With debates about immigration making headlines, and increased immigration enforcement in many places in the U.S., kids of all ages are likely to pick up on the tension. However, what’s often missing from the national debate is the fact that behind every immigration or refugee case is a unique story about a real person, their family, and their day-to-day life.
When kids are exposed to a variety of stories that reflect their own lives as well as lives that are different from their own, they can gain empathy, compassion, and a deeper understanding of their identity and the world around them.
These children’s books, from picture books to novels, feature immigrant and refugee stories that kids can relate to and learn from, whether their own family has a recent history of migration or not.
Picture books about immigrants and refugees
Good-bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong by Frances Park & Ginger Park
In this picture book about immigration, homesickness, and friendship, a little girl is reluctant to leave her home in South Korea to start a new life all the way in Massachusetts. Age: 3+
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Joseph’s Big Ride by Terry Farish
All Joseph wants is to ride a bike, and this obsession follows him from the refugee camp he lives in in Kenya, all the way to America when he moves there with his mother. His love of bikes eventually helps him make a friend in his new, unfamiliar neighborhood. Age: 4+
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Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
Gorgeous illustrations and poetic words grace this story of the real journey the author took from Mexico to the United States with her baby, and how they started to adjust to their new home thanks to books from the public library. Age: 4+
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A Thousand White Butterflies by Jessica Betancourt-Perez & Karen Lynn Williams
Isabella has recently arrived from warm, sunny Colombia — and what was supposed to be her first day of school in the United States turns into a snow day! The snow provides both an adventure and a way to make new friends. Age: 5+
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A Different Pond by Bao Phi
In this award-winning and moving picture book, a boy goes fishing with his dad early each morning in Minneapolis, and his dad tells him about another pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Age: 5+
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Yusra Swims by Julie Abery
This biography tells the true story of Yusra Mardini, a talented Syrian swimmer who wants to be in the Olympics one day, but first she has to endure a long journey to escape the war that’s raging in her country. Age: 6+
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Chapter books and middle grade books about immigrants and refugees
Amina Banana and the Formula for Friendship by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
This chapter book series for young readers follows the story of Amina, a third grader who loves science and who has recently moved to Indiana from Syria. In the first book, she tries to come up with the perfect formula for making new friends, and realizes it’s more complicated than that! Age: 6+
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The Circuit (Graphic Novel Edition) by Francisco Jiménez
The author recounts his childhood with his migrant family, from the journey from Mexico to California, to the hours spent in the fields as migrant workers. This graphic novel is adapted from his memoir by the same name (which is recommended for teens). Age: 8+
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Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai
In this illustrated chapter book, the 11-year-old main character navigates moving from China to Australia, struggling to learn English and make friends, and grieving his father’s death. Along the way he gets into trouble — and cake-baking adventures — with his little brother. Age: 9+
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Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar
Mexican nine-year-old Betita and her family are seeking a safer life in California, but they end up in a detention center. This novel in verse portrays the ugly conditions of the detention camp, as well as the beauty of the people they meet there. Age: 9+
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When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
This graphic novel beautifully portrays the true story of Omar Mohamed, who fled Somalia at age four, and spent the rest of his childhood waiting in a refugee camp in Kenya, along with his nonverbal brother. Age: 9+
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A Long Pitch Home by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
In this novel, Bilal moves from Pakistan to Virginia right before his 10th birthday, and suddenly has to navigate missing his father, adjusting to a new culture, and switching from his all-time favorite sport, cricket, to American baseball. Age: 9+
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Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh
The chapters of this novel alternate between the stories of two teen boys in Brussels, Belgium — Ahmed, a refugee from Syria who has lost his family, and Max, who moved from the U.S. because of his father’s job. When their lives collide, they form an unexpected friendship and brave dangerous situations together. Age: 10+
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Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
In this autobiographical novel, a middle school boy in Oklahoma confronts bullying and prejudice, while spinning stories about his family’s past in Iran. Age: 11+
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