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Mama and Papa are excited to take a break from working in the fields and go home, but Carlos and his sisters are not sure how they feel about traveling to Mexico. Soon after arriving, however, they meet their loving extended family, and the children begin to understand what it meant for their parents to leave home in order to offer the family a better future. David Diaz’s stunning illustrations layered on top of photos of Mexican folk art bring Eve Bunting’s beautiful story to life.

Going Home

Eve Bunting

Illustrator:

David Diaz

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction

This collection of bilingual poems gives voice to a young boy who has recently come to the U.S. from Mexico. He wonders, for example, why he has suddenly lost all of his intelligence here if in his country he was smart. From getting a library card to making friends, Jorge must find ways to overcome the challenges of his new life. An excellent portrayal of the roller coaster that newcomers experience upon arrival in the U.S.

My Name Is Jorge on Both Sides of the River

Jane Medina

Illustrator:

Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Age Level:

9-12

In the second book of Sofia’s “My America” stories, Sofia and her family arrive in Boston following her detention at Ellis Island. There is much to explore, and many mysteries to solve. How much should Mama charge for the tortellini she is making? Where is her little brother’s pocket money coming from? And will she ever hear from her beloved friend Maureen again? Filled with adventure, humor, and many surprises, readers will find themselves cheering Sofia on as her Italian family adapts to their new life in Boston.

My America: Home at Last

Katherine Lasky

Age Level:

9-12

Lights for Gita

Rachna Gilmore

Illustrator:

Alice Priestley

Age Level:

6-9

Carl Erik and his family have finally arrived in Minnesota! They are ready for a new set of adventures, including learning English, planting new crops, and getting to know their Obijway neighbors. This Easy Reader sequel to “The Long Way to a New Land” encourages beginning readers to think about what it really means to feel at home.

At Home in a New Land

Joan Sandin

Age Level:

3-6

“Not long ago, the people of Ireland and the people of Poland knew very little of each other.” So begins a tale of young Keara Buckley and Stefan Pazik, who are brought together in a small mining town in Pennsylvania. Both the Irish and Polish families insist that each child have nothing to do with each other, but as time goes on, the two young people realize they have quite a bit in common. Yezerski conveys both hardship and hope through his detailed text and illustrations.

Together in Pinecone Patch

Thomas Yezerski

Age Level:

6-9

When Bram comes to America, he misses everything from Holland — his brick house and friendly neighbors and walks to the sea. Most of all, though, he misses his time with Mama in the morning chair. Will Bram ever begin to feel at home in America? Illustrations done in soft colors are the perfect match to this touching story about starting over from a child’s point of view, which is based on the author’s husband’s experience of emigrating to the U.S. shortly after World War II.

The Morning Chair

Barbara M. Joosse

Illustrator:

Marcia Sewall

Age Level:

3-6

Each morning in the early fall, Ana and her mother watch the blackbirds fly away. “One day I will return like you,” Ana’s mother tells the birds. Ana knows that her mother is thinking of her homeland, Costa Rica, and Ana’a grandparents. When Ana holds a special volcanic stone that her mother brought with her, she is certain that someday they will return together. A tender depiction of the nostalgia and dreams of an immigrant family.

The Remembering Stone

Barbara Timberlake Russell

Illustrator:

Claire B. Cotts

Age Level:

6-9

It’s a New Year in Chinatown, but one little boy from Hong Kong wonders, “How can it ever be a good year thousands of miles from home?” As he moves through the seasons, however, New York finally begins to feel like home. Told in verse, these poems capture the challenges of adapting to a new life from a child’s point of view. Vivid paintings with a photograph-like quality bring the poems to life.

My Chinatown

Kam Mak

Age Level:

6-9

When young Fergus left Ireland to set sail for America, he brought with him a branch from his family’s blackthorn tree. That branch became a shillelagh, which he whittled on the ship crossing the Atlantic. Fergus’ shillelagh and the story of his journey pass down through generations of his family every St. Patrick’s Day, until it is finally forgotten. When young Kayleigh discovers the shillelagh, however, the story is reborn for a new generation. A lilting and lyrical text is enhanced by lovely paintings that evoke the different experiences of Fergus’ descendents.

The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh

Janet Nolan

Illustrator:

Ben F. Stahl

Age Level:

6-9

When Mamá is sent to a detention center in Tijuana because she doesn’t have the right immigration papers, José must get used to life without her. He and his father visit Mamá at the center, where they talk about the future in which they will be together. Based on the experiences of René Colato Laínez’s students, both he and illustrator Joe Cepeda strike the right balance of honesty and hope in depicting this difficult yet common situation for families along the border.

From North to South

René Colato Laínez

Illustrator:

Joe Cepeda

Age Level:

6-9

Product Descriptoin: “After fleeing war-torn Russia and trekking across Europe, determined to make a new life for themselves in America, in Sept. 1922, 11-year-old Yehuda Weinstein, his mother, & his younger sister boarded the S.S. Rotterdam, bound for the U.S.What happens to Yehuda and his family on Ellis Island is both a touching story & an illuminating account of the immigrant experience. Illuminated with beautifully evocative paintings, family photos, period postcards, and sepia prints.”

Journey to Ellis Island

Carol Bierman, Barbara Hehner

Illustrator:

Laurie McGaw

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: “In 1933, seven-year-old Li Keng’s father decided to bring his family from a small village in southern China to California. Getting to America was not easylife in America during the Great Depression brought many exciting surprises as well as a few disappointments. Hunger, poverty, police raids, frequent moves, and the occasional sting of racism were a part of everyday life, but slowly Li Keng and her family found stability and a true home in Gold Mountain.”

Good Fortune: My Journey to Gold Mountain

Li Keng Wong

Age Level:

9-12

“Narrated by elder sister Annushka, the story tells of two Russian girls who leave their native home and their beloved grandparents to begin a new life in New York with their father. Their parting from their relatives is wrenching, yet their future is full of possibilityAn afterword includes an antique photograph of the real sisters, the author’s mother and aunt, along with a historical note regarding the persecution of Jews in Russia during the late 1800s.” — School Library Journal

Annushka’s Voyage

Edith Tarbescu

Illustrator:

Lydia Dabcovich

Age Level:

6-9

Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story

Eve Bunting

Illustrator:

Ben F. Stahl

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction, Historical Fiction

When Sun learns that it is time to make the journey to America, he begins to prepare for his interrogation at Angel Island. Sun studies hard, but he often gets the directions of the compass mixed up. What will happen if he can’t remember if the school is east or west of his house? Based on the story of her father-in-law, Milly Lee provides a touching look at the story of Chinese immigrants who came through Angel Island, complemented by Yangsook Choi’s lovely and evocative paintings.

Landed

Milly Lee

Illustrator:

Yangsook Choi

Age Level:

6-9

“Kai, 12, is the fourth-generation male in his family to leave China for the U.S. He’s on his way to join his father, who is an American citizen in San Francisco. But after the long journey and tense medical examination, Kai is locked up on Angel IslandThe character Kai is based on a real person, whose photos, then and now, are part of the historical notes at the back of the book. Opposite each page of the intensely moving, detailed text are beautiful full-page watercolor-and-pencil illustrations that capture the crowded holding place, and, in unforgettable close-ups, the characters’ heartbreak and strength.” — Booklist

Kai’s Journey To Gold Mountain: An Angel Island Story

Katrina Saltonstall Currier

Illustrator:

Gabhor Utomo

Age Level:

6-9

Based on his father’s immigration files from Angel Island, Laurence Yep and his niece Dr. Kathleen S. Yep bring us the story of a ten-year-old boy from China who must prepare for his interrogation at Angel Island. The young boy memorizes everything from the layout of his village to the number of doors in the house, and continues his study on the sea voyage to San Francisco with his father. The Yeps provide a powerful account of the intensity and challenge Chinese immigrants faced at Angel Island, as well as the complexity of the relationships for those families who were spread between China and the U.S.

The Dragon’s Child: A Story of Angel Island

Laurence Yep, Dr. Kathleen S. Yep

Age Level:

9-12

We the People: Angel Island

Alice K. Flanagan

Age Level:

9-12

Grandmother has a surprise for Mayumie — is it a visit to the zoo, a museum, or the big city? When they finally reach their destination, Mayumie understands what makes visiting a cherry blossom grove so special: the beautiful pink flowers only bloom once a year! Readers will be enchanted by the magic of the story and the illustrations that capture the stunning colors of the cherry blossom trees. An author’s note provides historical details, as well as information on the cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC.

The Falling Flowers

Jennifer B. Reed

Illustrator:

Henry Cole

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Fiction

On a summer day when no one can think of anything to do, “playing war” seems like the perfect way to spend the day to Luke and his friends — until they realize that their new friend, Sameer, has had more experience with war than any of his friends can imagine. Beckwith and Lyon offer a poignant look at real and imagined war from a child’s point of view. Teachers with refugees may find this an effective bridge for discussion.

Playing War

Kathy Beckwith

Illustrator:

Lea Lyon

Age Level:

6-9

After much practice, Mai is finally ready to make her own pa’dau, or embroidered story cloth. Listening to the stories of her grandmother and the other women at the refugee camp, however, she feels that there are no stories left for her to stitch. Can she find a story of her own? This moving tribute to the Hmong people is richly enhanced by a breathtaking, intricate story cloth woven for the book by pa’ndau artist You Yang.

The Whispering Cloth

Pegi Deitz Shea, You Yang

Illustrator:

Anita Riggio

Age Level:

9-12

Lina has not worn shoes for two years. On the day that new clothes are delivered to her refugee camp, she is excited to find a beautiful yellow sandal with a blue flower in the middle. She wonders where the other sandal might be — until she sees it on another girl. Evocative paintings capture the spirit of friendship that develops between these two survivors, as well as the dramatic setting of their story. Based on the lives of Afghan refugees living in the Peshawar Refugee Camp.

Four Feet, Two Sandals

Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammad

Illustrator:

Doug Chayka

Age Level:

6-9

Ziba has left the war-torn Afghanistan to come to a place that is safer and warmer — Australia. As the tiny fishing boat rises and falls on the sea, Ziba remembers all that she left behind, and dreams of the freedom that awaits her in her new life. Haunting illustrations convey both the pain and hope that consumes Ziba on her journey. Based on the stories of the Hazara refugees living in Australia.

Ziba Came on a Boat

Liz Lofthouse

Illustrator:

Robert Ingpen

Age Level:

6-9

Reading 101

In the Classroom

Helping All Readers

Books & Authors

Literacy at Home

Book Finder

Going Home

My Name Is Jorge on Both Sides of the River

My America: Home at Last

Lights for Gita

At Home in a New Land

Together in Pinecone Patch

The Morning Chair

The Remembering Stone

My Chinatown

The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh

From North to South

Journey to Ellis Island

Good Fortune: My Journey to Gold Mountain

Annushka’s Voyage

Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story

Landed

Kai’s Journey To Gold Mountain: An Angel Island Story

The Dragon’s Child: A Story of Angel Island

We the People: Angel Island

The Falling Flowers

Playing War

The Whispering Cloth

Four Feet, Two Sandals

Ziba Came on a Boat

Book Finder

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