I’m Your Neighbor News

Unum Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Posted by on Jun 16, 2020 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on Unum Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Unum Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

I’m Your Neighbor Books was honored to receive a donation from Unum, a leading provider of employee benefits products and services, in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. “Helping build stronger communities is one of our core values and is reflected in our long-standing tradition of giving back,” said Unum Employee Benefits Consultant Truc T Huynh, “We are happy to support I’m Your Neighbor Books and its mission of building a stronger culture of welcoming and belonging.” With their donation, we were able to purchase multiple copies of the following...

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Creating Welcoming Classrooms with Immigration Literature: NCTE

Posted by on Nov 21, 2019 in * I'm Your Neighbor, *Welcoming Library, Engagement Projects, Events & Programs, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on Creating Welcoming Classrooms with Immigration Literature: NCTE

I’m Your Neighbor Books is honored to join DiversifiED Consulting in conversation with New Arrival and New American book creators at the NCTE 2019 Conference on “Creating Welcoming Classrooms with Immigration Literature.”. Watch this space for a growing list of resources on welcoming classrooms and the featured books.   Louise El Yaafouri, DiversifiED Consulting Website Twitter: @ElYaafouriELD Featured Books: The Newcomer Student: An Educator’s Guide to Aid Transitions The Newcomer Fieldbook: A Workbook Companion to The Newcomer Student Resources: Teaching Resiliency:...

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Educator’s Guide on Cross-Group Friendship & the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Posted by on Mar 12, 2019 in Ages 10 and up, Brussels, Engagement Projects, I'm Your Neighbor News, Middle East, Syrian, Theme: Bilingual Character, Theme: Civil War, Theme: Cross-Group Friendship, Theme: Cultural Differences, Theme: Education & Literacy, Theme: Family Death, Theme: Family Separation, Theme: Loss of Childhood, Theme: Separation & Reunion, Theme: Undocumented Immigration, Transfer | Comments Off on Educator’s Guide on Cross-Group Friendship & the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Educator’s Guide on Cross-Group Friendship & the Syrian Refugee Crisis

The I’m Your Neighbor team was honored to partner with Louise El Yaafouri of Refugee Classroom on an extensive guide to help you teach and share the acclaimed middle grade novel, Nowhere Boy. While visiting her family in Saida, Lebanon, Louise added ELL and Enrichment Modifications, Teaching Resources on the Syrian War, and more to the extensive classroom and reader discussion guide. Each of these resources are driven by the project’s guiding question, “If a global crisis is a collection of thousands of personal stories, what do we all gain from knowing those stories and...

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Events: Welcoming Immigrants with Children’s Literature

Posted by on Nov 6, 2018 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer, Welcoming Library: Collection | Comments Off on Events: Welcoming Immigrants with Children’s Literature

Events: Welcoming Immigrants with Children’s Literature

WELCOMING IMMIGRANTS WITH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE   Saturday, November 10, 2018 11:00 AM Harlow Gallery Hallowell, Maine Sunday, November 18, 2018 4:00 PM PRINT: A Bookstore Portland, Maine Book advocate Kirsten Cappy and author-illustrator Anne Sibley O’Brien will share the project they co-founded, I’m Your Neighbor Books, a project encouraging communities to welcome immigrants, refugees, and 1st-3rd generation Americans as neighbors through the sharing of children’s literature. The website features picture books through young adult novels portraying the contemporary immigrant...

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I’m Your Neighbor on the Lifelines Podcast

Posted by on Sep 24, 2018 in *Welcoming Library, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on I’m Your Neighbor on the Lifelines Podcast

I’m Your Neighbor on the Lifelines Podcast

  I’m Your Neighbor is honored that the The Lifelines: Books That Bridge the Divide Podcast featured the Welcoming Library and that they highlighted immigration children’s literature in Episode 7. Look for the episode on author Ann Braden’s site, Stitcher, or iTunes. Podcasters and authors Saadia Faruqi and Ann Braden believe: – That there is diversity all around us, and we all benefit when we open our minds to see it. – That everyone has the right to feel seen and heard. – That the voices of minority groups – racial, religious and socioeconomical...

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The Day War Came: Discussion Guide

Posted by on Aug 14, 2018 in Engagement Projects, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on The Day War Came: Discussion Guide

The Day War Came: Discussion Guide

I’m Your Neighbor Books was honored to be asked by Candlewick Press to produce a Discussion Guide for The Day War Came by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb (Candlewick Press). In 2016, the United Kingdom refused to welcome 3,000 children who had no families—children just like the girl you read about. The United States continues to lower the number of refugees it will accept into the country. There is no war in the United Kingdom or the United States, but the girl might say the “war had gotten here too.” Do you feel like she is right? Is it like war to not help? How can you...

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Libraries as Centers of Safety, Empathy, and Affirmation

Posted by on Jun 26, 2018 in Events & Programs, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on Libraries as Centers of Safety, Empathy, and Affirmation

Libraries as Centers of Safety, Empathy, and Affirmation

In her introduction to the American Library Association’s Annual Conference panel “Unpacking the Immigrant Experience: Creating a Space for New Arrivals,” I’m Your Neighbor co-founder, Anne Sibley O’Brien voiced the pain and rage of the last year “for all who are concerned about immigrants.” “For all who are concerned about immigrants, it’s been a horrendous month in a terrible year: We still face a Muslim ban, the loss of DACA, and the Syrian refugee crisis, to name a few challenges. Anti-immigrant sentiment is rampant. And most recently and...

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Wear Your Welcoming

Posted by on Jan 28, 2018 in I'm Your Neighbor News | Comments Off on Wear Your Welcoming

Wear Your Welcoming

By your request, I’m Your Neighbor is now offering t-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers through Redbubble. Say, “I’m Your Neighbor” in ten languages as you move about your community. See them here. The small profits from the sales will go to the national expansion of the I’m Your Neighbor Welcoming Library. Image created by the fine folks at moth written.

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I’m Your Neighbor Welcoming Library

Posted by on Jun 19, 2017 in *Welcoming Library, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | 3 comments

I’m Your Neighbor Welcoming Library

  The I’m Your Neighbor Welcoming Library is a portable book collection and display of acclaimed picture books featuring the immigrant, refugee, or “new arrival” experience. This pilot traveling library will be made available to Maine school and public libraries for monthly loan starting in September 2017. Given the national conversation about immigration, the I’m Your Neighbor Welcoming Library seeks to raise awareness and build sensitivity for all ages through children’s literature. “The true meeting takes place when the book opens, and a stranger reads about —...

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This in an Executive Order: Read 4 Picture Books

Posted by on Jan 28, 2017 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on This in an Executive Order: Read 4 Picture Books

This in an Executive Order: Read 4 Picture Books

I’m Your Neighbor is a website offering children’s immigration stories and books. It is not a site about global or even American politics.  But immigration is a deeply political issue in America and across the globe. Is I’m Your Neighbor about to get political?  I don’t know.  You might need to tell me. This is what I do know.  Stories and books exist to explain things to us, to help us to stop being afraid of things, and to help us feel something for someone we have never met. Stories and books are part of our global culture because they build knowledge, confidence, and empathy.  The world...

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Dominican American Book Awarded

Posted by on Nov 21, 2016 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on Dominican American Book Awarded

Dominican American Book Awarded

  Congratulations to I’m Your Neighbor co-founder Terry Farish for receiving an Honor from the Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children for her picture book Luis Paints the World (Lerner). The award was established to “promote and recognize fiction that has the potential to transform children’s lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder.”

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Collective American Voice: Citizenship Ceremony, Maine

Posted by on Mar 17, 2016 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Theme: Celebration, Theme: Citizenship, Theme: Immigration, Transfer | Comments Off on Collective American Voice: Citizenship Ceremony, Maine

Collective American Voice: Citizenship Ceremony, Maine

Following is the keynote address by author Maria Testa for the Citizenship Ceremony held at Portland Public Library, Portland, ME on March 10, 2016 It is an extraordinary honor to welcome new Americans to our country. What we are witnessing today is, in fact, a tremendous gift to our country. You have honored all of us by choosing to become Americans. Those of you who are familiar with my work as a writer know that I have been exploring the ideal of America – and the question of who is an American – for quite some time. In my explorations, I have sometimes looked to my own family, my own...

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New Immigrants, New Approaches: ALA Resources

Posted by on Jun 30, 2015 in * I'm Your Neighbor, Events & Programs, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on New Immigrants, New Approaches: ALA Resources

New Immigrants, New Approaches: ALA Resources

Anne Sibley O’Brien and Kirsten Cappy were delighted to have been the guests of the Association of Library Services for Children at the American Library Association’s annual conference in San Francisco.  We had an intriguing conversation with librarians from all over the country about children’s literature, immigration and I’m Your Neighbor. One result of the conversation is that we need more populations listed on the website—Chinese American, Indian American, and more!  We welcome your input on populations and titles here. Following are some of the the materials that...

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I’m Your Neighbor, Portland: Narrative Report

Posted by on May 6, 2015 in Engagement Projects, Events & Programs, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on I’m Your Neighbor, Portland: Narrative Report

I’m Your Neighbor, Portland: Narrative Report

I’m Your Neighbor, Portland was a 2013 Portland, Maine community-wide read and series of public events designed to promote a sense of community among the diverse people who make the port city their home. READ the I’m Your Neighbor, Portland Narrative Report Want to hold your own community-wide read of New Arrival Children’s Literature? Explore book options and contact us!

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I’m Your Neighbor at 2013 ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair

Posted by on Jul 6, 2013 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on I’m Your Neighbor at 2013 ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair

I’m Your Neighbor at 2013 ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair

Last weekend I’m Your Neighbor took to the skies and traveled to Chicago for the 2013 American Library Association (ALA) Conference. I’m Your Neighbor was selected to be a presenter at the Diversity and Outreach Fair on Saturday afternoon, along side programs such as the Coretta Scott King Book Award Committee, REFORMA and the Chinese American Librarians Association. ALA says, “The Fair highlights library services to underserved or underrepresented communities, including people with disabilities; poor and homeless populations; people of color; English-language learners;...

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“I’m Your Neighbor” and Inclusion

Posted by on Jun 25, 2013 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on “I’m Your Neighbor” and Inclusion

“I’m Your Neighbor” and Inclusion

By Anne Sibley O’Brien, Children’s Book Author & Illustrator, Author Adviser, I’m Your Neighbor, Blogger at COLORING BETWEEN THE LINES: REFLECTIONS ON RACE, CULTURE AND CHILDREN’S BOOKS One issue that is likely to surface in a discussion of building bridges between “new arrival” and “long-term communities” is: Who is identified as part of each community? Who might be left out? Those questions encompass these issues: – Members of some long-term groups may feel that, due to race and/or class barriers, they have yet to be “welcomed,” and...

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I’m Your Neighbor, Portland

Posted by on Jun 12, 2013 in Events & Programs, I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on I’m Your Neighbor, Portland

I’m Your Neighbor, Portland

STORIES build understanding. UNDERSTANDING builds neighborhoods. NEIGHBORHOODS build a strong city. I’m Your Neighbor is currently piloting a community-wide read in the city of Portland, Maine. I’m Your Neighbor, Portland features nine books, both fiction and non-fiction, set in Maine and written by regional authors.  The collection of books feature multicultural friendships and immigration stories that reflect shifts in Portland’s cultural makeup, with immigrants and refugees coming from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia over the last 30 years. Throughout 2013,...

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Julie Ham on Writing/Illustrating Outside of Your Culture

Posted by on Jun 12, 2013 in I'm Your Neighbor News | Comments Off on Julie Ham on Writing/Illustrating Outside of Your Culture

Julie Ham on Writing/Illustrating Outside of Your Culture

Julie Ham, associate editor at Charlesbridge Publishers, recently wrote a wonderful post on authors writing outside their culture on the CBC Diversity blog. She asks, “Can authors or illustrators write about or illustrate cultures and races different from their own?” and her answer is “Yes.” Ham writes, “Books about various races and cultures reflect the diverse world we live in, can break stereotypes, bring readers to a faraway locale, and/or encourage readers to consider their own racial or cultural roots…I do believe that writing about or illustrating a...

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Maine’s New Arrivals Featured in 7 Books

Posted by on Nov 29, 2012 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Transfer | Comments Off on Maine’s New Arrivals Featured in 7 Books

Maine’s New Arrivals Featured in 7 Books

Maine authors, illustrators, and publishers have opened their notebooks, sketchbooks, and curiosity to the arrival of “new neighbors.”  Seven books have been released in the past few years depicting the growing cultural diversity of “the whitest state in the nation” through the arrival of students, business people, refugees, and secondary migrants from all over the world. Seven children’s books (fiction and non-fiction) voice the arrival and everyday stories of people from Cambodia, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosova, Ghana, India, Syria,...

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Follow up to Sikh American YA Novel

Posted by on Aug 15, 2012 in I'm Your Neighbor News, Indian American, Sikh American, Theme: Religious Faith | Comments Off on Follow up to Sikh American YA Novel

Follow up to Sikh American YA Novel

By Delanie Honda (Intern to I’m Your Neighbor) I recently completed Shine, Coconut Moon, which Kirsten posted about last week (see the post here). Having completed this book, I wanted to follow up and reiterate Kirsten’s encouragement to purchase and read this title. Samar, aka Sam, was raised as a typical American teenager by her mom and has given little thought to her Sikh and Indian background until her Uncle Sandeep reconnects with her family. Sam comes to learn more about her cultural background as her relationship with uncle deepens and so does the reader. Prior to reading...

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