Theme: emigration

Secret Keeper

By Book Importer | Published: January 11, 2010

When her father loses his job and leaves India to look for work in America, Asha Gupta, her older sister, Reet, and their mother must wait with Baba’s brother and his family, as well as their grandmother, in Calcutta. Uncle is welcoming, but in a country steeped in tradition, the three women must abide by [...]

Descriptors: India, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , » Leave a comment

My Ocean: A Novel of Cuba

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

After his grandparents emigrate, 12-year-old Enrique heads for the ocean, a source of comfort and solace. Why did they flee Cuba, leaving Enrique and his mother behind? Should they go, too? If not, will they, like so many others, be seen as disloyal? The sea has no answers for the boy. As the years pass, [...]

Descriptors: Caribbean, Cuba, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

Red Midnight

By Book Importer | Published: October 1, 2009

When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago’s village, they shoot at everyone in their path. Dos Vías is on fire, and the night glows red. “Take the cayuco and sail to the United States of America. Now go!” Santiago’s uncle Ramos tells him, and Santiago, twelve, and his four-year-old sister, Angelina, flee.
With a map, a machete, and [...]

Descriptors: Guatemala, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, United States of America » Other Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Before We Were Free

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s [...]

Descriptors: Caribbean, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction » Other Themes: , , , , , » 1 Comment

The Arrival

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

A man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He’s embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life – he’s leaving home to build a better future for his family. Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant’s experience through a singular work [...]

Descriptors: Australia, Fantasy, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Picture Book » Other Themes: , , , , , , , » 3 Comments

Feed the Children First: Irish Memories of the Great Hunger

By Yoo Kyung Sung | Published: December 1, 2008

The great Irish potato famine — the Great Hunger — was one of the worst disasters of the nineteenth century. Within seven years of the onset of a fungus that wiped out Ireland’s staple potato crop, more than a quarter of the country’s eight million people had either starved to death, died of disease, or [...]

Descriptors: Ireland, Nonfiction, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Other Themes: , , , , , , » Leave a comment