A moving statement about the refugee experience, told from a child’s unique point of view.
Anna’s Goat
Author: Book Importer
Chachaji’s Cup
A boy learns about his family history and the Partition of India from his great uncle, through stories told over a beloved old teacup.
Dia’s Story Cloth
The story cloth made for her by her aunt and uncle chronicles the life of the author and her family in their native Laos and their eventual emigration to the United States.
Gleam And Glow
Inspired by real events, master storyteller Eve Bunting recounts the harrowing yet hopeful story of a family, a war–and a dazzling discovery.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
Going Home, Coming Home/Ve Nha, Tham Que Huong
A young girl visits her grandmother in Vietnam where her parents were born and learns that she can call two places home.
How I Learned Geography
A 2009 Caldecott Honor Book. Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his family are living in poverty in a strange country. Food is scarce, so when the boy’s father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at first the boy is furious. But when the map is hung on the wall, it floods their cheerless room with color. As the boy studies its every detail, he is transported to exotic places without ever leaving the room, and he eventually comes to realize that the map feeds him in a way that bread never could. Based on the artist’s childhood memories of World War II.
The Island
Poignant and chilling, this allegory is an astonishing, powerful, and timely story about refugees, xenophobia, racism, multiculturalism, social politics, and human rights. When the people of an island find a man sitting on their shore, they immediately reject him because he is different. Fearful to the point of delusional paranoia, the islanders lock him in a goat pen, refuse him work, and feed him scraps they would normally feed a pig. As their fears progress into hatred, they force him into the sea.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 2
Zinnia: How The Corn Was Saved
A retelling of the Indian legend which explains why the Navajo always plant a scattering of zinnia flowers among their food crops and respect every spider.
Ten Little Rabbits
A counting book that depicts American Indians as rabbits, each one reflecting a different tribe and tribal tradition, e.g Pueblo corn dances or Navajo weaving. The book is problematic in the depiction of American Indians as rabbits, objects to be counted, much as in the offensive rhyme of “Ten Little Indians.” The book is not recommended due to the stereotypes portrayed in the book.
The Gift Of Changing Woman
Describes the traditional coming-of-age ceremony for young Apache women, in which they use special dances and prayers to reenact the Apache story of creation and celebrate the power of Changing Woman, the legendary ancestor of their people.