Staff Picks
Read All About It: Immigrant and Refugee Stories in Picture Books
- Jocelyn T.
- Thursday, August 20, 2020
Collection
Children and families immigrate or flee their country because of war, hunger, or the dream of something greater. However, life in their new home isn't always easy, and everyone isn't always welcoming.
Read these stories to find out how they figure it out, make friends, and how they embrace their new life while holding firm to who they are.
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The Big Umbrella
Published in 2018
A spacious umbrella welcomes anyone and everyone who needs shelter from the rain.
Two White Rabbits
Published in 2015
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 US 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.As many thousands of people, especially children, in Mexico and Central America continue to make the arduous journey to the US border in search of a better life, this is an important book that shows a young migrant's perspective.
Two White Rabbits
Published in 2015
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.
Over the River and Through the Wood
Published in 1996
An illustrated version of the poem that became a well-known song about a journey through the snow to grandfather's house for Thanksgiving dinner.
The Name Jar
Published in 2003
After Unhei moves from Korea to the United States, her new classmates help her decide what her name should be.
The Day War Came
Published in 2018
A powerful and necessary picture book - the journey of a child forced to become a refugee when war destroys everything she has ever known. Imagine if, on an ordinary day, war came. Imagine it turned your town to rubble. Imagine going on a long and difficult journey - all alone. Imagine finding no welcome at the end of it. Then imagine a child who gives you something small but very, very precious... When the government refused to allow 3000 child refugees to enter this country in 2016, Nicola Davies was so angry she wrote a poem. It started a campaign for which artists contributed drawings of chairs, symbolising a seat in a classroom, education, kindness, the hope of a future. The poem has become this book, movingly illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, which should prove a powerful aid for explaining the ongoing refugee crisis to younger readers.
Islandborn
Published in 2018
"Lola was just a baby when her family left the Island, so when she has to draw it for a school assignment, she asks her family, friends, and neighbors about their memories of her homeland...and in the process, comes up with a new way of understanding her own heritage"-- Provided by publisher.
Lost and Found Cat
The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey
Published in 2017
Describes how an Iraqi refugee family was separated from their beloved feline companion while on a crowded boat crossing to Greece before a worldwide community helped the cat and his owners reunite.
Stormy Seas
Stories of Young Boat Refugees
Published in 2017
"A desperate last hope for safety and freedom. The plight of refugees risking their lives at sea has, unfortunately, made the headlines all too often in the past few years. This book presents five true stories, from 1939 to today, about young people who lived through the harrowing experience of setting sail in search of asylum: Ruth and her family board the St. Louis to escape Nazism; Phu sets out alone from war-torn Vietnam; José tries to reach the United States from Cuba; Najeeba fl es Afghanistan and the Taliban; and after losing his family, Mohamed abandons his village on the Ivory Coast in search of a new life. Stormy Seas combines a vivid and contemporary collage-based design with dramatic storytelling to produce a book that makes for riveting reading as well as a source of timely information. These remarkable accounts will give readers a keen appreciation of the devastating effects of war and poverty on youth like themselves, and helps put the mounting current refugee crisis into stark context."-- Provided by publisher.
Vanishing Colors
Published in 2019
"As a young refugee girl takes shelter for the night, the world appears bleak. But as she starts thinking about her happy memories, she finds the courage to hope for a better future"-- Provided by publisher.
A Different Pond
Published in 2017
"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"-- Provided by publisher.
The American Wei
Published in 1998
When Wei Fong loses his first tooth while going to his family's naturalization ceremony many soon-to-be Americans join in the search.
We Came to America
Published in 2016
Celebrates United States immigration and the country's diverse immigrant heritage.
Stepping Stones
A Refugee Family's Journey = Ha.sa Al-.turuq?at
Published in 2016
This unique picture book was inspired by the stone artwork of Syrian artist Nizar Ali Badr, discovered by chance by Canadian children's writer Margriet Ruurs. The author was immediately impressed by the strong narrative quality of Mr. Badr's work, and, using many of Mr. Badr's already-created pieces, she set out to create a story about the Syrian refugee crisis. Stepping Stones tells the story of Rama and her family, who are forced to flee their once-peaceful village to escape the ravages of the civil war raging ever closer to their home. With only what they can carry on their backs, Rama and her mother, father, grandfather and brother, Sami, set out to walk to freedom in Europe. Nizar Ali Badr's stunning stone images illustrate the story.
Stepping Stones
A Refugee Family's Journey
Published in 2016
"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"-- Provided by publisher.
Grandfather's Journey
Published in 1993
A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather's journey to America which he later also undertakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.
Grandfather's Journey
Published in 2008
Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in the United States and Japan, Allen Say poignantly recounts his family's journey to America. The feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries are sensitively expressed.
Grandfather's Journey
Published in 2008
A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather's journey to America, which he later also undertakes, and describes the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote
A Migrant's Tale
Published in 2013
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. Includes author's note.
Brothers in Hope
The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan
Published in 2005
Eight-year-old Garang, orphaned by a civil war in Sudan, finds the inner strength to help lead other boys as they trek hundreds of miles seeking safety in Ethiopia, then Kenya, and finally in the United States.
The Day You Begin
Published in 2018
Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson has created a poignant, yet heartening audiobook about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone. There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you. There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it. Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical prose and warm narration reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes — and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway. (This book is also available in Spanish, as El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres !)
The Day You Begin
Published in 2018
Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner Rafael López have teamed up to create a poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone. There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you. There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it. Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text and Rafael López's dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway. (This book is also available in Spanish, as El Día En Que Descubres Quién Eres !)
The Day You Begin
Published in 2018
Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.
Teacup
Published in 2016
"A boy travels across the sea in a rowboat in search of a new home, making a journey that is long and difficult--but also filled with beauty and hope"-- Provided by publisher.