The Voyage
The Voyage By Veronica Salinas Illustrated by Camilla Engman Published by Groundwood Books Salinas’s musings on the subject of change will resonate especially with those who’ve had to move to a new home or immigrate to another country.” –Publisher’s Weekly Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description In this delightful picture book, a small duck finds himself in a place full of unusual creatures who speak an unfamiliar language. Eventually, he meets an animal whose big feet are just like his own. And with a friend by his side, he soon can feel at home. First published...
Read MoreHere I Am
Here I Am By Patti Kim Illustrated by Sonia Sanchez Published by Capstone Young Readers “Sánchez has captured a kaleidoscope of emotion and powerful sensations in a way children will grasp completely. It’s The Arrival for younger readers.” –Kirkus Reviews Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Newly arrived from their faraway homeland, a boy and his family enter into the lights, noise, and traffic of a busy American city. The language is unfamiliar. Food, habits, games, and gestures are puzzling. They boy clings tightly to his special keepsake from...
Read MoreTell Us We’re Home
Tell Us We’re Home By Marina Budhos Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers “These fully realized heroines are full of heart, and their passionate struggles against systemic injustice only make them more inspiring. Keenly necessary.” –Kirkus Reviews “These three girls are outcasts, like many teens, and the story may resonate with readers who often feel like outsiders looking in.” –School Library Journal Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Jaya, Maria, and Lola are just like the other eighth-grade girls in the wealthy suburb of...
Read MoreGive Me Shelter
Give Me Shelter Edited By Tony Bradman Published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Book “It is a seriously important book…Most of all, we learn about the loneliness of being a refugee in a strange country.” –David Self, Paper Tigers Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description The phrase ‘asylum-seeker’ is one we see in the media all the time. It stimulates fierce and controversial debate, in arguments about migration, race and religion. The movement of people from poor or struggling countries to those where there may be opportunities...
Read MoreWhere the Streets Had a Name
Where the Streets Had a Name By Randa Abdel-Fattah Published by Scholastic Press “As she did in Does My Head Look Big in This? (2007) and Ten Things I Hate About Me (2009), Abdel-Fattah introduces a bright, articulate Muslim heroine coping with contemporary life…A refreshing and hopeful teen perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma.” –Kirkus Reviews Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Critically acclaimed author Randa Abdel-Fattah’s middle-grade debut about the journey — and risks — a Palestinian girl will take to save her...
Read MoreMy Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece
My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece By Annabel Pitcher Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers “This book is a great catalyst for opening conversations about death and loss as well as difficult discussions about hatred and prejudice.” –Children’s Literature “This debut novel, set in the UK, will resonate with readers in post-9/11 America, many of whom will also relate to the issues of family alcoholism, bullying, and friendship that transcend cultural divisions…Don’t let it fall between the cracks.” –School Library Journal Find a copy at...
Read MoreOutcasts United
Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team that Changed a Town By Warren St. John Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers “…An uplifting underdog story that will appeal to readers interested in the immigrant experience and the surprising role sports can play in people’s lives.” –Kirkus Reviews “Not merely about soccer, St. John’s book teaches readers about the social and economic difficulties of adapting to a new culture and the challenges facing a town with a new and disparate population” —School Library Journal Find a copy at Amazon...
Read MoreThe Arrival
The Arrival By Shaun Tan Published by Arthur A. Levine Books “…Considering the terror that fuels debates about immigration throughout the western world, Tan’s message is pointed and utterly relevant, not just to teens struggling with their own feelings of alienation, but to all humankind. It is an absolutely marvelous book.” —VOYA “…It’s an unashamed paean to the immigrant’s spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect.” —Kirkus Reviews Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description The Arrival is a migrant...
Read MoreNo Safe Place
No Safe Place By Deborah Ellis Published by Groundwood Books “Orphans of the world and victims of human trafficking need all the press they can get, and this book does a great job of introducing the topic and allowing young people to see beyond the headlines of ‘Another illegal accidentally dies in Chunnel.’ ” —Meredith Toumayan, School Library Journal Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Orphaned and plagued with the grief of losing everyone he loves, 15-year-old Abdul has made a long, fraught journey from his war-torn home in Baghdad, only to end...
Read MoreNew Mainers
New Mainers: Portraits of our Immigrant Neighbors By Pat Nyhan Photography by Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest Published by Tilbury House Publishers “The personal stories are what make this book a much-needed education about where Maine fits into the global agenda…. It’s new and it’s startling, and I believe that reading it is certain to enrich a reader’s interest in the greater world and all it has to offer.” —Capital Weekly Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Who are these new Mainers, and why have they come here? They are from...
Read MoreMy Friend Mei Jing
My Friend Mei Jing By Anna McQuinn Illustrated by Ben Frey Photography by Irvin Cheung Published by Annick Press “…A book that will get all children seeing how they are more alike than they are different, this book should have a place on most school and public library shelves.” — Tasha Saecker, Waking Brain Cells Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Different cultures. Best friends. Ever since Mei Jing came to Monifa’s school they’ve been best friends. They’re both artistic and like to create wild designs together. They love to play at...
Read MoreMy Friend Jamal
My Friend Jamal By Anna McQuinn Illustrated by Ben Frey Published by Annick Press “What’s great in this book in the new My Friend series is that the friendship celebrates not only connections but also rich diversity.” —Hazel Rochman, Booklist “Joseph’s notes on what he has learned about his friend’s culture add to the usefulness of this matter-of-fact picture of mutual respect and cross-culture harmony.” —Children’s Literature Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Different cultures. Fast friends. Jamal and Joseph were born in the...
Read MoreMigrant
Migrant By Maxine Trottier Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault Published by Groundwood Books “…[Anna’s] sense of herself as a rootless outsider is broadly applicable to other, perhaps all, migrant groups…a moving, inventive and thoughtful look at a way of life many people share.” —Kirkus Reviews Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N Description Anna is the child of Mennonites from Mexico, who have come north to harvest fruit and vegetables. Sometimes she feels like a bird, flying north in the spring and south in the fall, sometimes like a jack rabbit...
Read MoreI Remember Warm Rain
I Remember Warm Rain Photos by Laura Lewis Published by The Telling Room Find a copy from The Telling Room Store Description Fifteen students, from countries such as Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and Iran are represented in our first anthology, I Remember Warm Rain. In it, you meet Ali killing hyenas and Arunda speaking to his father by phone after ten years of believing he is dead. You meet Kahiye, revealing his first experience of snow, and Stella doing something once forbidden to her, playing a game she loves: soccer. These rich stories were written as part of The Telling...
Read MoreFirst Crossing
First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants Edited by Donald R. Gallo Published by Candlewick Press “Newly transplanted teens will find the voices represented in this collection far more relevant than those echoing forth from the huddled masses of Ellis Island, and American-born readers will gain insight from the palpable depictions of what it’s like to be thrust into ‘the middle of a game where [you] don’t know the players, the rules, or even the object.'” —Jennifer Mattson, Booklist Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N ...
Read MoreWEAR YOUR WELCOME
