immigrants

Where Butterflies Fill the Sky

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Marwan, Zahra. Where Butterflies Fill the Sky. New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2022.
How does it feel to be stateless? How can someone can belong to no country, at all? What future is there for people born in a country that will not permit them to receive medical care, go to public school or college, or get married?
This quietly wistful picture book tells the story of a little girl leaving the land of her birth and moving to a new country. The layout of the sentences on the pages – spread out across the full-page illustrations – add to the feeling of floating from one place to another. The soft dreamy colours of the ink and watercolour drawings add to the feeling of not truly belonging anywhere. In an extensive afterward, the author explains why her family left Kuwait to immigrate to New Mexico. She also explains the memories and symbols shown in her illustrations. Highly recommended as a read-aloud for children 5 years old and up and for older students learning about world politics.

More stories of migrants

More picture book memoirs

Using picture books and novels to learn about the world 

Hope Is an Arrow

Sophie Rosen , , , ,

McCarthy, Cory. Hope Is an Arrow: The Story of Lebanese American Poet Kahlil Gibran. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2022.
A poet. An artist. A storyteller. An essayist. A philosopher. Born into a Lebanese Maronite Christian family in 1883, Kahlil Gibran came to America with his mother and siblings in 1895.  Sent back to study Arabic in Beruit when he was fifteen, he moved to Paris to study painting when he was eighteen. In 1910, he returned to the US, where his literary fame grew. Attracted to Islam, Sufism, and Jungian psychology, his writing was nonetheless greatly influenced by the King James Bible. Although he died almost 100 years ago, his work continues to be published. The Prophet has not been out of print for over 100 years.
This picture book biography – vibrantly illustrated by Ekua Holmes – retells the story of Gibran’s complex life in a clear, easy-to-follow style suitable for reading aloud to listeners as young as six but informative enough – with extensive notes at the end – to provide a fascinating introduction for readers of any age. Highly recommended.

“We are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered.”

P.S. Always watch for picture books published by Candlewick. They are invariably beautiful.

More stories of immigrants

More biographies of writers

Everything Sad is Untrue

Sophie Rosen , , , , ,

Nayeri, Daniel. Everything Sad is Untrue: (a True Story). New York: Levine Querido, 2020. 

Khosrou’s family history goes back centuries. In Iran, his family was well-to-do, educated, respected. But now, in an Oklahoman middle-school, the renamed Daniel is merely a poor lonely immigrant. In the style of the stories of Scheherazade, Khosrou tells how his mother converted to Christianity and they had to flee the secret police, leaving his father behind.A multiple award winner, this 356-page autobiographical novel is highly recommended for readers 11 years old and up.

More stories based on the author’s life

More stories of faith

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A Place to Belong

Sophie Rosen , , , , , ,

Kadohata, Cynthia. A Place to Belong. New York: Atheneum, 2019.
Twelve-year-old Hanako, her younger brother, and her parents have been incarcerated in internment camps ever since the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942. Although the war is now over, her family is still not wanted in America, so her parents give up their American citizenship and move to Japan. Her grandparents are overjoyed to see them, but Hanako doesn’t feel at home. She is too American to blend into Japanese life. And the poverty is overwhelming.
This 399-page novel is an outstanding addition to the historical fiction genre. The facts of post-war Japanese life are smoothly embedded in an emotionally powerful story – with an unerring sense of voice – highly recommended for competent readers 11 years old and up.

P.S. This is a superb novel for a small group study. Numerous thought-provoking sentences will promote connections between the story and readers’ own lives…

“‘When I walked away last time…I never looked back….I was scared it would make me change my mind'” (90).

“‘…you must forgive….I see and hear many bad in world, many bad….but there is also many good. So we move forward in life, neh? When we can, we move forward'” (105).

“This was the thing about being spoiled: you had to rise above it” (136).

“There was not enough; this was a fact. The world was filled with facts that could not be changed. She had learned this during their camp days. There were many, many, many facts” (158).

“‘Maybe same thing make you sad, make Japanese children happy'” (189).

“‘You did the right thing….You may cry. But don’t forget that you did the right thing'” (204).

More stories set in Japan

More stories of historical fiction

More stories of immigrants

 

A Map Into the World

Sophie Rosen , ,

Yang, Kao Kalia. A Map Into the World. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books, 2019.
How do you find your way in a new world? A little girl settles into a new home with her parents and grandmother in this quietly hopeful picture book by an award-winning Hmong American writer living in Minnesota. As the seasons pass, Paj Ntaub welcomes her twin brothers into the world, befriends a grieving neighbour, and enjoys the beauties of nature in her neighbourhood. Softly coloured, full-page illustrations by Seo Kim help tell this story recommended for readers 7 to 11 years old.  

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More stories of grief

Last of the Name

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Parry, Rosanne. Last of the Name. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2019.
After surviving a horrific voyage, twelve-year-old Danny and his older sister Kathleen arrive in New York City. But the prejudice against Irish Catholics is as bad in America as it was in Ireland. Determined to stay together, the siblings find work as house maids. But they can only stay as long as Danny can keep pretending to be a girl.  This novel – set in 1863 and based on historical facts – is highly recommended for competent readers 11 years old and up.

More stories set in New York City

More historical fiction

More novels by Roseanne Parry:
A Wolf Called Wander
Written in Stone

Moving to a new home…

Sophie Rosen , , ,

O’Brien, Anne Sibley. I’m New Here. Watertown, Mass.: Charlesbridge, 2015.
Maria, Jim, and Fatimah arrive at their new school. Back home, they could read and write and talk with their classmates. But here, they feel all alone. Slowly, though, they learn to speak English and they make new friends. This lovely gentle picture book – told from the perspective of newcomers from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia – is recommended for readers 6 to 9 years old. 

More books about migration