By Kathy Short, Updated November 2025

Anchor Texts

de la Peña, M. (2025). Home. Illus. Loren Long. Penguin.
The people and places that provide a sense of home and refuge during times of uncertainty.

Khwaja, M. (2024). The Home We Make. Illus. Daby Z. Faidhi. Lee & Low.
A Muslim girl and family flee violence and seek refuge as they work to rebuild a sense of home.

Home as Multiple Places in the Heart

Azaad, Dezh. (2023). The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story. Illus. N. Cao. Abrams. Afghanistan.
An Afghan refugee family’s life revolves around love, family, and the carpet that connects them.

Ho, Richard (2024). A Taste of Home. Illus. T.P. Sibu. Roaring Brook. New York City.
Children gather ingredients from around the world for a shared meal celebrating urban diversity.

Kheiriyeh, Rashin (2021). The Shape of Home. Levine Querido. Iran
On her first day of school, Rashin and her classmates explore the shape of home on a map.

Kuo, Julia (2025). Home is a Wish. Roaring Brook. Taiwan
A child moves far away from everything familiar, but discovers home is where the heart is.

Lee, Jessica (2024). A Garden Called Home. Illus. Elaine Chen. Tundra. Taiwan.
A child searches for a way to help her mother appreciate winter and brings home to their garden.

Mo, Cherry (2024). Home in a Lunchbox. Penguin. Hong Kong.
A new immigrant feels isolated but discovers home in the foods and flavors in her lunchbox.

Moushabeck, Hannah. (2023). Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine. Illus. Reem Madooh. Chronicle. Palestine.
Although a family cannot return home, they can celebrate stories of their homeland.

Perella, Eugenia & Salerno, Angela. (2025). My Home is in a Backpack. Floris. Venezuela
Clara’s family leaves everything behind but carries home in their backpacks as they walk.

Perkins, Mitali (2021). Home is In Between. Illus. Naidu Lavanya. FSG. India.
A Bengali immigrant feels caught between her family’s traditions and her new country’s culture.

Rahman, Bahram (2023). If You See a Bluebird. Illus. Gabrielle Grimard. Afghanistan.
Ali longs to return to Afghanistan until his Nana explains home is not a place, but the love of family.

Sibu, T. P. (2025). Home, Home. Penguin. Kerala, India.
Ajesh struggles to connect to India on a visit to family and realizes home can be two places .

Yoh, Eugenia & Chang, Vivienne (2023). This is Not My Home. Little, Brown. Taiwan.
Lily is upset when her family moves back to Taiwan to care for her Ah Ma.

Changing Perspectives on Home

Bourgonje, Chantal (2024). Searching for Home. Beaming Books.
A house-sprite sets off to find a home with friends, inviting other animals to join his quest.

DeBhairduin, O. (2024). The Slug and the Snail. Illus. Olya Anima. Little Island. Irish Travelers.
A traveler’s tale of two brothers who see home differently, one as a shell and the other as the road.

Kemp, Laekan Zea. (2025). Home is a Heartbeat. Illus. Magdalena Mora. Latinx U.S.
A celebration of a multigenerational, multi-family household and the heartbeat of home.

Rylant, Cynthia (2022). Home is Where the Birds Sing. Illus. Katie Harnett. Beach Lane.
Illustrations and text celebrate the many things-big and small-that make a place feel like home.

Simler, Isabelle. (2024). Home. Trans. from French, Vineet Lal. Eerdmans. Global.
A poetic journey through amazing animal homes across the world with mesmerizing artwork.

Sorell, Traci (2024). Being Home. Illus. Michaela Goade. Penguin. Cherokee.
A Cherokee girl moves toward home in leaving the city to return to her family’s ancestral land.

Tran, Dac Trung (2025). Remember. Paw Prints. Vietnam.
A boy finds home in his mother’s embrace after a day wandering alone while his mother works.

Unwin, Mike (2024). Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live. Illus. Jenni Desmond. Bloomsbury.
A focus on the habitats that provide homes for animals all over the world.

Wiley, DeAnn (2024). Homegrown. Holt.
A young Black girl ponders the meaning of home through the lens of family and culture.

Home and Housing Insecurity

Hippely, Hilary (2024). I Know How to Draw an Owl. Illus. Matt James. Holiday House
An unhoused girl and her mother live in a car in the park, feeling secure under the eyes of an owl.

Judge, Lita (2025). Old Blue is My Home. Abrams.
An old blue van provides a family with shelter and belonging as they roam adrift between places.

Lippert, Tonya. (2022). Home. Illus. Andrea Stegmaier. Imagination Press.
Two children experience uncertain housing as they move from a house to a hotel to a shelter.

Ransome, James (2025). A Place for Us. Penguin.
Visual narrative about a boy and his mother who sleep in the park, finding home with each other.