Immigration Books for Kids

From GRPLpedia

Contents 1 Picture Books 2 Fiction for Kids

Picture Books

Silent Movie Avi. 2003. (Picture Book Avi)

In the early years of the twentieth century, a Swedish family encounters separation and other hardships upon immigrating to New York City until the son is cast in a silent movie.

A Picnic in October Bunting, Eve. 1999. (Picture Book Bunting)

An Italian-American boy finally comes to understand why his grandmother insists that the family come to Ellis Island each year to celebrate Lady Liberty's birthday.

I Saw Your Face Dawes, Kwame. 2005. (Picture Book Dawes)

A poem and portraits of children illustrate the shared beauty and heritage of people of African descent living throughout the world.

When this World Was New Figueredo, D.H. 1999. (Picture Book Figueredo)

When his father leads him on a magical trip of discovery through new fallen snow, a young boy who emigrated from his warm island home overcomes fears about living in New York

Lights for Gita Gilmore, Rachna. 1994. (Picture Book Gilmore)

Recently immigrated from India, Gita is looking forward to celebrating her favorite holiday, Divali, a festival of lights, but things are so different in her new home that she wonders if she will ever adjust.

Sofie and the City Grant, Karima. 2006. (Picture Book Grant)

When Sofie calls her grandmother in Senegal on Sundays, she complains about the ugliness of the city she now lives in, but her life changes when she makes a new friend.

Katie's Wish Hazen, Barbara Shook. 2003. (Picture Book Hazen)

Soon after Katie wishes for her potatoes to disappear during dinner, the potato famine of the 1840s ravages her native Ireland, forcing her to leave for America.

The Castle on Hester Street Heller, Linda. 2007. (NEW Picture Book Heller)

Julie's grandmother deflates many of her husband's tall tales about their journey from Russia to America and their life on Hester Street.

When Jessie Came Across the Sea Hest,Amy. 1997. (Picture Book Hest)

A thirteen-year-old Jewish orphan reluctantly leaves her grandmother and immigrates to New York City at the turn of the century, where she works for three years sewing lace and earning money to bring Grandmother to the United States, too.

The Color of Home Hoffman, Mary. 2002. (Picture Book Hoffman)

Hassan, newly-arrived in the United States and feeling homesick, paints a picture at school that shows his old home in Somalia as well as the reason his family had to leave.

In the Small, Small Night Kurtz, Jane. 2005. (Picture Book Kurtz)

Kofi can't sleep in his new home in the United States, so his older sister Abena soothes his fears about life in a different country by telling him two folktales from their native Ghana about the nature of wisdom and perseverance.

How My Family Lives in America Kuklin, Susan. 1992. (j305.8 K958h)

Three children whose parents are immigrants tell how they perpetuate their cultural heritage with cherished traditions, language, food, songs, religion, games, and school.

Landed Lee, Milly. 2006. (Picture Book Lee)

After leaving his village in southeastern China in 1915, twelve-year-old Sun is held at Angel Island, San Francisco, before being released to join his father, a merchant living in the area.

My Chinatown: One Year in Poems Mak, Kam. 2002 (Picture Book Mak)

A boy adjusts to life away from his home in Hong Kong, in the Chinatown of his new American city.

The Keeping Quilt Polacco, Patricia. 1988. (Picture Book Polacco)

A homemade quilt ties together the lives of four generations of an immigrant Jewish family, remaining a symbol of their enduring love and faith.

What Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street Rael, Elsa Okron. 1996. (Picture Book Rael)

A young Jewish girl living on Manhattan's Lower East Side attends her first "package party" where she learns about the traditions of generosity, courage, and community among Jewish immigrants in the early 1900s.

My name is Yoon Recorvits, Helen. 2003. (Picture Book 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.

Annushka's Voyage Tarbescu, Edith. 1998. (Picture Book Tarbescu)

The Sabbath candlesticks given to them by their grandmother when they leave Russia in the late 1800s help two sisters make it safely to join their father in New York.

Streets of Gold Wells, Rosemary. 1999. (Picture Book Wells)

Based on a memoir written in the early twentieth century, tells the story of a young girl and her life in Russia, her travels to America, and her subsequent life in the United States.

Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara Woodruff, Elvira. 2006. (Picture Book Woodruff)

Darcy Heart O'Hara, a young Irish girl who neglects her chores to observe the beauties of nature and everyday life, shares family memories with her homesick parents and siblings after the O'Haras are forced to emigrate to America in the 1840s.

Fiction for Kids

Home of the Brave Applegate, Katherine. 2007. (NEW jFiction Applegate)

Kek, an African refugee, is confronted by many strange things at the Minneapolis home of his aunt and cousin, as well as in his fifth grade classroom, and longs for his missing mother, but finds comfort in the company of a cow and her owner.

Little Cricket Brown, Jackie. 2004. (jFiction Brown)

After the upheaval of the Vietnam War reaches them, twelve-year-old Kia and her Hmong family flee from the mountains of Laos to a refugee camp in Thailand and eventually to the alien world of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The Honeysuckle House Cheng, Andrea. 2004. (jFiction Cheng)

An all-American girl with Chinese ancestors and a new immigrant from China find little in common when they meet in their 4th-grade class, but they are both missing their best friends and soon discover other connections.

Behind the Mountains Danticat, Edwidge. 2002. (jFiction Danticat)

Writing in the notebook her teacher gave her, 13-year-old Celiane describes life with her mother and brother in Haiti as well as her experiences in Brooklyn after the family immigrates there to be reunited with her father.

Maggie's Door Giff, Patricia Reilly. 2003. (jFiction Giff)

In the mid-1800s, Nory and her neighbor and friend, Sean, set out separately on a dangerous journey from famine-plagued Ireland, hoping to reach a better life in America.

Bridge to America Glaser, Linda. 2005. (jFiction Glaser)

Eight-year-old Fivel narrates the story of his family's Atlantic Ocean crossing to the United States, from its desperate beginning in a shtetl in Poland in 1920 to his stirrings of identity as an American boy.

How I Became an American Gundisch, Karin. 2001. (jFiction Gundisch)

In 1902, ten-year-old Johann and his family, Germans who had been living in Austria-Hungary, board a ship to immigrate to Youngstown, Ohio, where they make a new life as Americans.

The Trouble Begins Himelblau, Linda. 2005. (jFiction Himelblau)

Reunited with his family for the first time since he was a baby, fifth grader Du struggles to adapt to his new home in the United States.

Drita, My Homegirl Lombard, Jenny. 2006. (jFiction Lombard)

When Drita and her family, refugees from Kosovo, move to New York, Drita is teased about not speaking English well, but after a popular student is forced to learn about Kosovo as a punishment, the girls soon bond.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson Lord, Bette. 1984. (jFiction Lord)

In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn where she becomes Americanized at school, in her apartment building, and by her love for baseball.

Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl Moss, Marissa. 2000. (jFiction Moss)

In the Russian shtetl where she and her family live, Hannah is given a diary for her tenth birthday, and in it she records the dramatic story of her journey to America in 1901.

The King of Mulberry Street Napoli, Donna Jo. 2005. (jFiction Napoli)

In 1892, Dom, a nine-year old stowaway from Naples, Italy, arrives in New York and must learn to survive the perils of street life in the big city.

Fiona McGilray's Story: A Voyage from Ireland in 1849 Pastore, Clare. 2001. (jFiction Pastore)

Follows teenager Fiona McGilray as she and her family leave Ireland during the time of the Potato Famine and travel to their new home in Boston.

Blue Jasmine Sheth, Kashmira. 2004. (jFiction Sheth)

When twelve-year-old Seema moves to Iowa City with her parents and younger sister, she leaves friends and family behind in her native India but gradually begins to feel at home in her new country.

The Arrival Tan, Shaun. 2007. (jGraphic Novel Tan)

In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family.