Tag: immigrants

cover of Across So Many Seas
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Across So Many Seas

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Across So Many Seas (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2024) by Ruth Behar is about immigrants–it covers four time periods and explores a variety of reasons why people leave their country.

We start in Spain in 1492 when Jews are forced to leave or face death. Twelve-year-old Benvenida’s family goes to Turkey where they are allowed to live freely. Of course, it wasn’t an easy journey. Next, we meet twelve-year-old Reina whose father ships her off to Cuba because of a small act of disobedience–there she is promised to marry a stranger. The story picks up in 1961 Cuba with Reina’s daughter, twelve-year-old Alegra, who becomes a brigadista teaching country people how to read. Again, the family has to leave their home–this time for the United States. In 2003 Miami, we meet Alegra’s twelve-year-old daughter Paloma, who with her family makes an amazing trip back to Spain.

Ruth was inspired by her two grandmothers, a Polish Jew, and a Turkish Jew, both who sailed on different ships to Cuba. She obviously had to do a lot of research into the times and places for this story, and makes them each feel real.

Read her fascinating bio here and check out all her books here–it also shows all the awards this book has won.

Previously, I recommended Ruth’s Lucky Broken Girl, another immigrant story.

photo of globe with dolls dressed as from other countries - different skin color faces
Posted in PB, So Many Good Books

Inclusive Picture Books

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Books

I haven’t been reading and recommending picture books lately, but thought it might be helpful to share some that include other cultures, immigrants, and books about acceptance of those who are “different.” I strongly believe that exposing young children to these topics will help them understand our beautiful diverse world better. And perhaps there will be a little less “othering.”

Little Bird Laila (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2025)
by Kelly Yang and illustrated by Xindi Yan

New (HarperCollins, 2025)
by Niña Mata

So Loud! (Annick Press, 2024)
by Sahar Golshan and illustrated by Shiva Delsooz

The Light Within You (Two Lions, 2023)
by Namita Moolani Mehra and illustrated by Kamala Nai

American Desi (Little, Brown and Company, 2022)
by Jyoti Rajan Gopal and illustrated by Supriya Kelka

Powwow Day (Charlesbridge, 2022)
by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight

The Capybaras (Greystone Kids, 2021)
by Alfredo Soderguit

Swashby and the Sea (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020)
by Beth Ferry and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

When Your Daddy’s a Soldier (Viking Books for Young Readers, October 2022)
by Gretchen Brandenburg McLellan and illustrated by EG Keller

The Star Festival (Albert Whitman & Company, 2021)
by Moni Ritchie Hadley and illustrated by Mizuho Fujisawa

Federico and the Wolf (Clarion Books, 2020)
by Rebecca J. Gomez and illustrated by Elisa Chavarri

Let’s Dance! (Boyds Mill & Kane, 2020)
by Valerie Bolling and illustrated by Maine Diaz

No Party Poopers (little bee books, 2020)
by Gretchen McLellan and illustrated by Lucy Semple

Ohana Means Family (Neal Porter Books, 2020)
by Ilima Loomis and illustrated by Kenard Pak

A Friend for Henry (Chronicle Books, 2019)
by Jenn Bailey and illustrated by Mika Song

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story (Roaring Brook Press, 2019)
by Kevin Noble Maillard and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

cover of The Lost Year
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Lost Year

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Lost Year (Roaring Brook Press, 2023) by Katherine Marsh is a really good historical about the Holodomor (the Ukraine famine tragedy in the 1930s), and is also set at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. With Ukraine and Russia and immigration being in the news, this book is very timely. The story is told in multiple points of view.

It’s the pandemic and thirteen-year-old Matthew’s reporter father is in France and can’t come home. All Matthew can do is online school, help Mom with his great grandmother, and not see his friends or go anywhere. When Mom takes away his Switch, she makes him help GG sort out the boxes in her room. It’s not easy going, since GG periodically tells him to “get out,” but as he starts learning family history, secrets are revealed.

We meet three cousins: Nadiya, Mila, and Helen.

This book was inspired by Marsh’s own family history and is a National Book Award Finalist, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the 21st Century, Winner of the Jane Addams, Golden Kite and New York Historical Society Awards and on 28 state lists. I hope you get to read it.

Here’s a video about Katherine’s family. Read about the author here and see her other books here. I’ve read two of her books before and see others I need to read.

cover of
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Elephant in the Room

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Elephant in the Room (Rocky Pond Books, 2021) by Holly Goldberg Sloan is much more than an immigrant story or a story about autism or even a story about winning the lottery. Plus a real elephant. Told in multiple points of view, this story is a compelling read.

Sila was born in Oregon but her parents are Turkish citizens and something was wrong with her mother’s paperwork so after 15 years in America, her mother has to go back to Turkey. And it’s Sila’s fault. Living without her mother for the last eight months is the hardest thing Sila has ever known. Then she and her dad meet Gio, who won the lottery. And the three of them meet Veda, a circus elephant, whom Gio buys because of Sila. When Sila is assigned to be a partner to Mateo, she surprises herself by inviting him to meet Veda. Who knew this series of events would give hope to everyone involved.

Read about Holly here and check out her other books here.

cover of Finally Seen
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Finally Seen

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Finally Seen (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2023) by Kelly Yang is so so goood!! It’s hard to tell you how much I like it. 😉

Ten-year-old Lina Gao has been living in China with her grandmother, Lao Lao, and finally gets to go live in America with her parents and younger sister who left five years ago. But all is not well in Los Angeles. Things are definitely not what she expected. Like her English being good enough. And her sister in all the family pictures, but none of her. Have her parents even missed her? Plus, Lina feels guilty about leaving Lao Lao behind.

This character and her situation felt so real. I loved seeing how Lina grew and changed and how she changed things around her.

Kelly Yang is an award winning and bestselling author. On her Finally Seen page, she asks kids what books make them feel seen. Check out her books here and scroll to the bottom to read the FAQs.

(Previously I recommended her book Front Desk here.)