Tag Archives: Migration

Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought For Her American Dream

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National bestselling author Julissa Arce tells of her journey from Taxco, Mexico, to growing up undocumented in Texas.  As a young girl, she, her two sisters, her nanny, and her grandmother were left behind in Taxco for months at a time, while her parents worked in America, hoping to build a home for the family.  At age eleven, her parents brought her to Texas where she secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant.  She worked tirelessly, achieved academic excellence, overcame cultural barriers, and ultimately climbed to a successful career on Wall Street. Eight pages of black and white photographs complement this compelling story. mjw

Title: Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought For Her American Dream Author: Julissa Arce Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-0-316-48174-8 Hardcover pages: 240 Age range: 11-14 Genre: Autobiography Book setting: Mexico, Texas Author’s ethnicity: Mexican Author’s residence: Los Angeles, U.S. Subjects: Biography, Illegal aliens, Immigrants, Mexican American women, Social justice, Texas

The Curiosity Cabinet

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Ian Wallace’s wordless tribute to Canada on her 150thbirthday includes graphite illustrations of treasures from his forty years of traveling the country.  He has made thousands of school and library visits inspiring young readers to become artists and he has received many gifts from the students.  His cabinet of curiosities includes these gifts and other discoveries he has made. Each illustration is devoted to a province or territory – tamarack geese made by Cree artists in Ontario, a snow globe illuminating the moment he stood on the Arctic Circle, the English heraldic lion from Prince Edward Island, and much more.  A table of contents and an introduction set the stage and detailed illustrator’s notes provide much information. mjw

Title: The Curiosity Cabinet Author: Ian Wallace Illustrator: Ian Wallace Publisher: Groundwood Books.  House of Anansi Press. Toronto Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-55498-922-5 Hardcover pages: 36 Age range: 5-9 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Canada Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Brookline, MA Illustrator’s ethnicity: Canadian Illustrator’s residence: Brookline, MA Subjects: Biography, Mystery and wonders, Pictorial works, Travel

Kakuma Girls: Sharing Stories Of Hardship And Hope From Kakuma Refugee Camp

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Clare Morneau is a 17-year-old author and speaker who lives in Toronto and is committed to working for real change.  As a student at Havergal College, she founded the Kakuma Toronto Girls Education Partnership. This illuminating book is a compilation of letters of hardship and hope from the girls in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya to girls at a high school in Canada.  The Kakuma girls have incredible hopes and dreams for their future.  They are fighting for their education and will do anything to go to university.  They dream of becoming doctors, engineers, pilots, or journalists and improving their families’ lives.  The book includes beautiful photographs, maps, a chronology, a glossary, and a list of ways to get involved. mjw

Title: Kakuma Girls: Sharing Stories Of Hardship And Hope From Kakuma Refugee Camp Author: Clare Morneau and contributors Publisher: Barlow Books, Toronto Copyright: 2016 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-988025-14-8 Hardcover pages: 184 Age range: 12 up Genre: Nonfiction, Information Book Book setting: Kenya Author’s ethnicity: Canadian Author’s residence: Toronto Subjects: Refugee children. Refugees, Sudan, Women

La Frontera: El Viaje Con Papa, My Journey With Papa

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This bilingual book (Spanish and English) follows Alfredo and his father during the 1980s as they leave behind their home in Mexico for Texas.  The story is told through Alfredo’s eyes and is based on one of the author’s own experiences in crossing the border, la frontera.  It tells why they left Mexico, describes their difficult journey, and shows how courage and determination can lead to a better and more productive life. Colorful pictures prepared in graphite, acrylic, and digital collage complement the vivid narrative.  Back matter includes more on Alfredo’s story, information about borders and cultures, a map, notes about immigration, and photographs.  mjw

Title: La Frontera: El Viaje Con Papa, My Journey With Papa Author: Deborah Mills and Alfredo Alva Illustrator: Claudia Navarro Publisher: Barefoot Books. Cambridge, MA and London Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English and Spanish Translator: Maria A. Perez ISBN: 978-1-78285-388-6 Hardcover pages: 48 Age range: 4-8 Genre: Picture Book Book setting: Mexico and Texas Author’s ethnicity: Mills – U.S.  Alva – Mexican Author’s residence: Mills – U.S.  Alva – Texas Illustrator’s ethnicity: Mexican Illustrator’s residence: Mexico Subjects: Central America, Emigrants and immigrants, Hispanic and Latino, Mexican Americans, Mexico, United States

The Baghdad Clock

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This story, narrated by a teenage Iraqi girl in the midst of the first Gulf War mixes dreams with real life and fantasies with reality.  She huddles in an air raid shelter with her friend Nadia and the two imagine a world not torn apart by war.  They share dreams, hopes, desires, and first loves.  As they grow older and the bombs continue to fall, their friends begin to flee the country.  The use of metaphor, dream interpretations, and soothsayers helps build the narrative and the sense of place and time.  mjw

Title: The Baghdad Clock Author: Shahad Al Rawi Publisher: Oneworld Publications, London Copyright: 2018 Original Language: Arabic Translator: Luke Leafgren Original Publisher: Dar al Hikma Original Copyright: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-78607-324-2 Hardcover pages: 288 Age range: 14 up Genre: Fiction Book setting: Baghdad, Iraq Author’s ethnicity: Born in Baghdad Author’s residence: Dubai Awards: 2018 Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction Subjects: Air raid shelters, Biography, Coming of age, Persian Gulf War – 1991, Teenage girls

Escape From Aleppo

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Fourteen-year-old Nadia is accidentally separated from her family while fleeing from war-torn Syria in 2013. She meets an elderly man who agrees to help her. She eventually makes it to Turkey. Inspired by current events this coming-of-age novel deals with the horrors of the war. In the first part of the book, Nadia flashes back to more pleasant times of her life. Senzai does a wonderful job of describing Aleppo before and during the war. This is an informative and exciting story. mjw

Title: Escape From Aleppo Author: N.H. Senzai Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York Copyright: 2018 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1-4814-7217-3 Hardcover pages: 336 Age range: 8-12 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Syria Author’s ethnicity: Indian Author’s residence: U.S.  Subjects: Arab Spring, Middle East, Refugees, Secrecy, Syria-Civil War 2011, Wars

A Different Pond

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This quiet story is about a young Vietnamese boy and his father who go fishing early in the morning in Minneapolis so that the family can have food to eat. They don’t fish for recreation. They bond as the father tells the boy about fishing in his homeland of Vietnam, as well as a bit about the war where he was a soldier. Beautifully illustrated in vividly colored, graphic novel panels, the book conveys a powerful message. Notes from both the poet-author and the illustrator are included. mjw

Title: A Different Pond Author: Bao Phi Illustrator: Thi Bui Publisher: Capstone Young Readers. North Mankato, Minnesota Copyright: 2017 Original Language: English ISBN: 978-1479597468 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 6-8 Genre: Picture book Book setting: Minneapolis Author’s ethnicity: Vietnamese Author’s residence: Minneapolis, Minnesota  Illustrator’s ethnicity: Vietnamese Illustrator’s residence: U.S. Awards: 2018 Caldecott Honor Subjects: Asian Americans, Fathers and sons, Fishing, Emigrants and immigrants, Poverty, Vietnam