Emmigrants and immigrants

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 Song Of The Whales

Michael’s grandfather has a secret—a secret that’s almost too strange to share . . . When Michael moves to Israel, he leaves loneliness behind and steps into the light of his grandfather’s magic. Like a sorcerer’s apprentice, Michael learns how to blur the lines between dreams and reality when his grandfather hands down the most precious of gifts—a gift that allows Michael passage into his grandfather’s dreams. Written with a quiet simplicity that wins the reader over at once Uri Orlev writes in a style so sure and yet so unassuming that it is certain to linger in reader’s minds long after turning the last page.

The Quail Club

“A compelling sequel to THE GOLD-THREADED DRESS. . . . Handles a perennial topic with poignancy and grace.” — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. Oy lives in America now, but she loves learning traditional Thai dances almost as much as being in the Quail Club — five friends who meet after school to hatch and care for baby quail. When their teacher announces a talent show, Oy knows how proud her family would be to see her step onstage in her gold-threaded dress from Thailand. But bossy Liliandra vows to kick Oy out of the club if she won’t team up for a very different kind of dance. In this finely crafted novel, Carolyn Marsden explores what it takes to be a true friend and still be true to yourself.

Our Beckoning Borders: Illegal Immigration To America

Examines the problems connected with illegal immigration in the United States, from the perspectives of the immigrants themselves as well as from that of law enforcement officials.

Super Cilantro Girl/La Superniña Del Cilantro

What happens when a small girl suddenly starts turning green, as green as a cilantro leaf, and grows to be fifty feet tall? She becomes Super Cilantro Girl, and can overcome all obstacles, that’s what! Esmeralda Sinfronteras is the winning super-hero in this effervescent tale about a child who flies huge distances and scales tall walls in order to rescue her mom. Award-winning writer Juan Felipe Herrera taps into the wellsprings of his imagination to address and transform the concerns many first-generation children have about national borders and immigrant status. Honorio Robledo Tapia has created brilliant images and landscapes that will delight all children.

The Year Of Our Revolution: Love And Rebellion In The 1960s: Stories And Poems

Teenaged Mary Ellen-known to her parents as María Elenita-is pulling away from their conservative Puerto Rican world, towards dreams of rock music, political protest, and first love. But as she learns about the “secret” lives of her parents and other adults, she finds that the taste of freedom is not so sweet. Judith Cofer’s new collection-drawn from her own adolescence, with a novella included especially for the paperback edition-will speak to readers of both sexes, and all races.”…her descriptions of barrio life with a pervasive current of sensuality and rebellion…there is wisdom aplenty in this radiant collection.” -Publishers Weekly

The Other Side: How Kids Live In A California Latino Neighborhood (World Of My Own)

Provides a brief look at three Latino children who live in the border town of Chula Vista. The book covers the lives of three Latino children who have successfully adapted to a new culture and language while still maintaining close ties to family members in Mexico.

The Uncertain Journey (Stories Of Illegal Aliens In El North)

Twelve moving stories of men and women who have come to America as illegal aliens in search of a future tell how they struggle to find jobs and warm places to sleep while avoiding deportation.