Pier 21: Listen to My Story

Nowadays most newcomers to North America arrive by airplane, but it wasn’t always this way. Between 1928 and 1971, approximately 1.5 million people passed through Pier 21, on the cusp of new lives after arriving in North America by boat. In this pictorial, fact-filled book for young readers, author Christine Welldon shares the true stories of nine children who remember well their voyages over and their first experiences in a new place.

We meet Heili, an Estonian girl whose father captained a tiny 18-person boat crammed with 347 people fleeing communist rule in 1948, and Jamie, a Second World War guest child from Scotland who later returned to North America to live when he grew up. Also included are stories of immigrants from Italy, the Ukraine and the Netherlands, and the children of war brides who came over to reunite with their husbands.

With over forty photos, a glossary, timeline, and sidebar features on the pier itself and the home countries of those who passed through it, Pier 21provides an excellent introduction for children to this key landmark in immigration history.

When I Get Older: The Story Behind “Wavin’ Flag”

Winner of three Juno awards and recently named the Globe and Mail’s Artist of the Year, singer/songwriter/rapper/hip hop artist/social activist and, now, children’s book author, K’NAAN has a moving and inspiring personal story. K’NAAN (whose name means “traveler” in Somali) spent his childhood in Mogadishu surrounded by a loving family which included his aunt, one of Somalia’s most famous singers, and his poet grandfather. When K’NAAN was thirteen, he and his family fled war-torn Somalia and immigrated to Toronto. His story is inspiring, and his struggles as a new immigrant will speak to many young North Americans.

Now in his thirties, K’NAAN has had huge success as a singer. He has won many awards, and there are now twenty-two versions of his song, “Wavin’ Flag.” He lives in LA where he is at work on his third album. His children’s book is a tribute to growing up, and believing in the future, as he says: “When I get older, I will be stronger…”

Good-Bye, Havana! Hola, New York!

When five year old Gabriella hears talk of Castro and something called revolution in her home in Cuba, she doesn’t understand. Then when her parents leave suddenly and she remains with her grandparents, life isn’t the same. Soon the day comes when she goes to live with her parents in a new place called the Bronx. It isn’t warm like Havana, and there is traffic not the ocean outside her window. Their life is different- it snows in the winter and the food at school is hot dogs and macaroni. What will it take for the Bronx to feel like home?

Nips Xi

If white boys can’t jump, can Asian boys play cricket? And if they can why aren’t there any in the district cricket team? Vietnamese born Tran is fed up with being called a nip, sick of being on the sidelines so he and Izram decide to establish their own cricket team, and after a series of elimination trials, Nips XI is born!

The Garden of Empress Cassia

Mimi lives with her parents above her father’s herbalist shop. She hates being Chinese and being teased at school. More than anything she loves to draw, so when her art teacher gives her a box of pastels Mimi is thrilled. These are no ordinary pastels for the inscription on the box warns that they are “A treasure for some, a curse for others”. Mimi is able to draw amazing scenes on the footpath outside her father’s shop and the pastels breathe life into the pictures for those able to see it. When Gemma, her tormentor at school, steals the pastels, Mimi knows she must get them back – not only to keep them safe and their magic intact, but to save Gemma from the pastel’s curse.

A Step From Heaven

A young Korean girl and her family find it difficult to learn English and adjust to life in America.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 1

This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Marisol and the Yellow Messenger

Marisol learns about identity, loss, and the continuation of love and hope after her father is killed and her family must move north from Latin America, but through dreams she discovers her father’s presence, but in a different way than before.

Quien Es De Aqui: Una Historia De America/ Who Belongs Here?: An American Story (Spanish)

Describes the new life of Nary, a Cambodian refugee, in America, as well as his encounters with prejudice. Includes some general history of U.S. immigration.