A Good Trade
A Good Trade By Alma Fullerton Illustrated by Karen Patkau Published by Pajama Press ISBN-13: 9781772781182 Age Range: 4+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Kato, a young Ugandan boy, serves his family by filling jerry cans with a day’s worth of water each morning.” —School Library Journal Description In a small Ugandan village, Kato wakes early to start the long, barefoot trek beyond his village and along fields dotted with cattle and guarded by soldiers. His destination is the village well, where he will pump a day’s supply of water into two...
Read MoreWherever I Go
Wherever I Go By Mary Wagley Copp Illustrated by Munir D. Mohammed Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers ISBN-13: 9781534419193 Age Range: 6+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | WorldCat “A fine addition to children’s literature about refugees, resettlement, and resilience.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Of all her friends, Abia has been at the Shimelba Refugee Camp the longest—seven years, four months, and sixteen days. Papa says that’s too long and they need a forever home. Until then, though, Abia has something important to do. Be a queen. Sometimes...
Read MoreWhen Stars Are Scattered
When Stars Are Scattered By Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed Illustrated by Iman Geddy Published by Penguin Young Readers Group ISBN-13: 9780525553908 Age Range: 9+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “This engaging, heartwarming story does everything one can ask of a book, and then some.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So...
Read MoreInk Knows No Borders
Ink Knows No Borders By Alyssa Raymond & Patrice Vecchione Published by Seven Stories Press ISBN-13: 9781609809072 Age Range: 12+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “This symphony of poetry is a necessary series of bruises and balms that will comfort those who have endured, uplift those who continue to struggle, and educate others.” —Kirkus Reviews Description This collection of sixty-four poems by poets who come from all over the world shares the experience of first- and second-generation young adult immigrants and refugees. Whether it’s cultural and...
Read MoreLet’s Go Swimming on Doomsday
Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday By Natalie C. Anderson Published by Penguin Young Readers Group ISBN-13: 9780399547614 Age Range: 12+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “An excellent choice for public and school libraries looking for powerful realistic fiction titles.” —School Library Journal Description When Abdi’s family is kidnapped, he’s forced to do the unthinkable: become a child soldier with the ruthless jihadi group Al Shabaab. In order to save the lives of those he loves, and earn their freedom, Abdi agrees to be embedded as a spy...
Read MoreOver a Thousand Hills I Walk With You
Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You By Hanna Jansen Published by Lerner Publishing Group ISBN-13: 9781467765961 Age Range: 12+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…chronicles the experiences of Jansen’s adopted daughter, Jeanne d’Arc Umubyeyi, the sole member of her Tutsi family to survive the 1994 Rwandan genocide.” —Publishers Weekly Description Before one fateful April day, Jeanne lived the life of a typical Rwandan girl. She fought with her little sister, went to school, and teased her brother. Then, in one horrifying night,...
Read MoreCall Me American
Call Me American By Abdi Nor Iftin Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Age Range: 14+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Searing memoir filled with horrors that impressively remains upbeat, highly inspiring, and always educational.” -Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) Description The incredible true story of a boy living in war-torn Somalia who escapes to America–first by way of the movies; years later, through a miraculous green card. Abdi Nor Iftin first fell in love with America from afar. As a child, he learned English by listening to American pop...
Read MoreOne Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together
One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together By Amy Bass Published by Hachette Books Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Bass’s effective portrayal of Lewiston as a microcosm of America’s changing culture should be required reading for coaches, teachers, and those working with diverse populations.” —Publishers Weekly Description When thousands of Somali refugees resettled in Lewiston, Maine, a struggling, overwhelmingly white town, longtime residents grew uneasy. Then the mayor wrote a letter asking Somalis to stop coming,...
Read MoreSoldier Boy
Solider Boy By Keely Hutton Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Age Range: 13+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Unapologetically searing and catastrophically truthful, a reminder to readers that it demands much to meet harsh realities with impossible courage.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Soldier Boy begins with the story of Ricky Richard Anywar, abducted at age fourteen in 1989 to fight with Joseph Kony’s rebel army in Uganda’s decades-long civil war. Ricky is trained, armed, and forced to fight government soldiers alongside his brutal...
Read MoreAmina: Through My Eyes
Amina: Through My Eyes By J. L. Powers Published by Allen & Unwin Pty. Age Range: 11+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…a solid counterexample to Islamophobia and negative notions about Somalis.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Amina lives on the edges of Mogadishu. Her family’s house has been damaged in Somalia’s long civil war, but they continue to live there, reluctant to leave their home. Amina’s world is shattered when government forces come to arrest her father because his art has been officially censored, deemed too...
Read MoreJoseph’s Big Ride
Joseph’s Big Ride By Terry Farish Illustrated by Ken Daley Published by Annick Press, Limited Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N “A joyful, upbeat tale that takes a positive perspective on an immigrant child’s first encounters..” —Kirkus Reviews Description A refugee boy’s determination to ride a bicycle leads to an unexpected friendship. Joseph wants only one thing: to ride a bike. In the refugee camp where he lives, Joseph helps one of the older boys fix his bike, but he’s too small to ride it. Joseph and his mother travel to America, where everything is...
Read MoreRed Pencil
The Red Pencil By Andrea Davis Pinkney Illustrated by Shane Evans Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N “A soulful story that captures the magic of possibility, even in difficult times.” —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) Description “Amira, look at me,” Muma insists. She collects both my hands in hers. “The Janjaweed attack without warning. If ever they come– run.” Finally, Amira is twelve. Old enough to wear a toob, old enough for new responsibilities. And maybe old enough to go to school in...
Read MoreLost Girl Found
Lost Girl Found By Leah Bassoff and Laura DeLuca Published by Groundwood Books All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Africare.org, a charitable organization that works with local populations to improve the quality of life for people in Africa. Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description For Poni, life in her small village in southern Sudan is simple and complicated at the same time. Stay in school. Beat up any boy who tries to show attention. Watch out for the dangers in the river. But then the war comes. And when soldiers arrive in her village, and bombs...
Read MoreRefugee Boy
Refugee Boy By Benjamin Zephaniah Published by Bloomsbury Publishing “This book brings to light the plight of refugees everywhere…The book would be a great asset to students learning about diversity and how they should handle similar situations.” –Children’s Literature Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Alem is on holiday with his father for a few days in London. He has never been out of Ethiopia before and is very excited. They have a great few days togther until one morning when Alem wakes up in the bed and breakfast they...
Read MoreA Long Walk to Water
A Long Walk to Water By Linda Sue Park Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt “Park employs well-chosen details and a highly atmospheric setting to underscore both children’s struggles to survive” –Publisher’s Weekly “Brilliant. . . . A touching narrative about strife and survival on a scale most American readers will never see.”—BookPage Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Nya goes to the pond to fetch water for her family. She walks eight hours every day. Salva walks away from his war-torn village. He is a “lost boy” refugee,...
Read MoreThe Good Braider Celebrated in Portland, Maine
You are Invited to a Celebration for: THE GOOD BRAIDER A Novel by Terry Farish Set in Portland’s Sudanese Community Thursday, 11/8/12 @ 7:00 PM 7th Floor, Glickman Library University of Southern Maine Portland, Maine Free of Charge Info: Curious City, 207-420-1126 ABOUT THE BOOK “A masterful triumph of character and story.” -Naomi Shihab Nye In spare free verse laced with unforgettable images, Viola’s strikingly original voice sings out the story of her family’s journey from war-torn Sudan, to Cairo, and finally to Portland, Maine. Here, in the sometimes too...
Read MoreOut of Nowhere
Out of Nowhere By Maria Padian Published by Random House Children’s Books “The author gracefully explores the intersections between culture and religion, as well as suspicion and prejudice in a post-9/11 world. Her well-formed characters and realistic circumstances make for a large and powerful story about re-evaluating one’s beliefs.” –Publisher’s Weekly “With complex national issues solidly grounded in a thoroughly credible plot, this could be an outstanding vehicle for classroom and book club discussions.” –The Bulletin of the Center for...
Read MoreThe Storyteller’s Beads
The Storyteller’s Beads By Jane Kurtz Published by Harcourt Children’s Books “Although firmly grounded in the realities of Ethiopian life, which Kurtz (who grew up in Ethiopia) helps the reader see, hear, feel, and smell, the story is also universal, and will provoke reflection on prejudice, tolerance, and identity.” –Children’s Literature “This ultimately heartening novel is a solid addition to the growing body of middle-grade books for a multicultural world.” –Kathleen Isaacs, School Library Journal Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N...
Read MoreFaraway Home
Faraway Home By Jane Kurtz Illustrated by E.B. Lewis Published by Gulliver Books/Harcourt Books “Like Allen Say’s Grandfather’s Journey (1993), this picture book captures the immigrant experience when generations live far apart and even happy family life is mixed with longing for “back home.” –Booklist Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description As her father prepares for a trip back to his childhood home in Ethiopia, Desta begins to worry. Where does her father truly belong–in the village of his youth or here in America with her? What was...
Read MoreThe Good Braider
The Good Braider By Terry Farish Published by Marshall Cavendish/Amazon Children’s Publishing “Refreshing and moving: avoids easy answers and saviors from the outside. ” —Kirkus Reviews “…the larger community needs these stories.” —Finding Wonderland Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description In spare free verse laced with unforgettable images, Viola’s strikingly original voice sings out the story of her family’s journey from war-torn Sudan, to Cairo, and finally to Portland, Maine. Here, in the sometimes too close embrace...
Read MoreWEAR YOUR WELCOME
