We hope these selections serve to educate, and encourage a dialogue on topics of immigration and displacement, as well as spotlight immigrant and refugee experiences from a variety of places, perspectives, and backgrounds.
Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins
When Maria, Juan, and their mother go to the border between California and Mexico to visit their grandmother at Christmas, Maria must devise a way to get Juan’s gift over the fence.
Available formats: Book
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
Yuyi Morales tells her own immigration story in this memoir told in verse.
Available formats: Book, Audiobook (Hoopla), Ebook (Overdrive Media on Demand)
Marwan’s Journey by Patricia Arias
Marwan is a young boy on a journey he never intended to take, bound for a place he doesn’t know. On his journey, he relies on courage and memories of his faraway homeland to buoy him. With him are hundreds and thousands of other human beings, crossing the deserts and the seas, fleeing war and hunger in search of safety.
Available formats: Book
A Different Pond by Bao Phi
As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father’s long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. Between hope-filled casts, Bao’s father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam.
Available formats: Book
Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago
In this moving and timely story, a young child describes what it is like to be a migrant as she and her father travel north toward the U.S. border. They travel mostly on the roof of a train known as The Beast, but the little girl doesn’t know where they are going. She counts the animals by the road, the clouds in the sky, the stars. Sometimes she sees soldiers. She sleeps, dreaming that she is always on the move, although sometimes they are forced to stop and her father has to earn more money before they can continue their journey.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (Hoopla)
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
What is it like to have to leave everything behind and travel many miles to somewhere unfamiliar and strange? A mother and her two children set out on such a journey; one filled with fear of the unknown, but also great hope. Based on her interactions with people forced to seek a new home, and told from the perspective of a young child.
Available formats: Book
Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey by Margriet Ruurs
In this picture book, a young girl and her family are forced to flee their village to escape the civil war that has engulfed Syria, and make their way toward freedom in Europe.
Available formats: Book
Mustafa by Marie-Louise Gay
After leaving his war-torn country with his family, Mustafa visits a park near his new home and finds beautiful flowers, lady bugs, fall leaves, and finally, a friend.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (Hoopla)
Mango Moon by Diane De Anda
Ten-year-old Maricela, her brother Manuel, and mother face many challenges when her father is taken away to face deportation, but love binds them close.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (Hoopla)
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh
When Papa Rabbit does not return home as expected from many seasons of working in the great carrot and lettuce fields of El Norte, his son Pancho sets out on a dangerous trek to find him, guided by a coyote.
Available formats: Book
My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits
Disliking her name as written in English, Korean-born Yoon, or “shining wisdom, ” refers to herself as “cat, ” “bird, ” and “cupcake, ” as a way to feel more comfortable in her new school and new country.
Available formats: Book
Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña
Carmela, finally old enough to run errands with her brother, tries to think of the perfect wish, while his wish seems to be that she stayed home.
Available formats: Book
I’m New Here by Tim Andres Pabon
Three students are immigrants from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia and have trouble speaking, writing, and sharing ideas in English in their new American elementary school. Through self-determination and with encouragement from their peers and teachers, the students learn to feel confident and comfortable in their new school without losing a sense of their home country, language, and identity.
Available formats: Ebook (Hoopla)
The Matchbook Diary by Paul Fleischman
Follow a girl’s perusal of her great-grandfather’s collection of matchboxes and small curios that document his poignant immigration journey from Italy to a new country.
Available formats: Book
Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush’s Incredible Journey by Doug Kuntz
When an Iraqi family is forced to flee their home, they can’t bear to leave their beloved cat, Kunkush, behind. So they carry him with them from Iraq to Greece, keeping their secret passenger hidden away. But during the crowded boat crossing to Greece, his carrier breaks and the frightened cat runs from the chaos, disappearing. After an unsuccessful search, his family has to continue their journey, leaving brokenhearted. A few days later, aid workers in Greece find the lost cat. Knowing how much his family has sacrificed already, they are desperate to reunite them.
Available formats: Book
What is a Refugee? By Elise Gravel
Who are refugees? Why are they called that word? Why do they need to leave their country? Why are they sometimes not welcome in their new country?
Available formats: Book
All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel by Dan Yaccarino
The story of four generations of an Italian American family, beginning with an immigrant who came through Ellis Island with big dreams, a small shovel, and his parents’ good advice: “Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family.”
Available formats: Book
La Frontera: El Viaje con Papá / My Journey with Papa by Deborah Mills
Join a young boy and his father on a daring journey from Mexico to Texas to find a new life. They’ll need all the resilience and courage they can muster to safely cross the border – la frontera – and to make a home for themselves in a new land.
Available formats: Book (Vox Audiobook)
Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams
Two young Afghani girls living in a refugee camp in Pakistan share a precious pair of sandals brought by relief workers. Includes author’s note about refugees.
Available formats: Book
My Two Blankets by Irene Kobald
Cartwheel has arrived in a new country, and feels the loss of all she’s ever known. She creates a safe place for herself under an “old blanket” made out of memories and thoughts of home. But when she meets a new friend, the relationship helps her take her first steps into a new culture, and Cartwheel begins to weave a “new blanket, ” one of friendship and a renewed sense of belonging.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (Hoopla)
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