7 Picture Books That Tell Immigrant Stories
The stories of immigration aren’t reserved only for adults and politicians’ talking points. Children have their own stories, some of them heart-wrenching. Here are 7 children’s books that tell immigrant stories.
Drawn Together, written by Minh Lê, and illustrated by Dan Santat
Later generations often lose the languages and customs their grandparents and parents arrived in a new land. That is just what the reader finds in Drawn Together. A young boy spends another afternoon with his grandfather, who speaks another language. The boy wants to watch English television, not this old stuff in a language he can’t understand. But communication isn’t just about words. It’s much deeper than that. Frustrated and bored, the boy begins to draw. Interested, his grandfather watches silently before bringing out a cartography brush. He adds to his grandson’s drawing, and soon the two are off on a great battle of opposites, but this time with art. Soon, their love of drawing bridges the generational and cultural gap, and the two trade their artist’s implements and look forward to next week when they can draw again together.
Mama’s Nightingale: a Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat, illustrated by Leslie Staub
Saya and her father wait to learn her mother’s fate, who’s been arrested by ICE while at work. Her mother, a native of Haiti, doesn’t have the correct immigration papers, so she sits in a detention center, away from her family. In contrast, the slow process of immigration grinds around her.
As a way of connecting with her mother, Saya listens to her mother’s greeting recorded on their answering machine, but it’s no replacement. Soon, while in the dentition center, Saya’s mother begins writing Haitian bedtime stories for her daughter. Inspired by her mother’s stories and her father’s tireless work to free her mother. Saya writes her own immigrant story in the hopes her words will bring her mother home.
Through poignant storytelling and touching illustrations, Mama’s Nightingale shows the power of the written word and how even the youngest among us contains the power to move mountains.
Islandborn by Junot Díaz, illustrated by Leo Espinosa
Lola’s school is filled with kids from other places, herself included, but when her teacher asks them to draw their homelands, Lola is the only one not jumping for joy. She left her island home for New York when she was just a baby and didn’t remember it. Discouraged but not disheartened, Lola set out to find her island in the memories of her family. From exotic fruits to spectacular sea creatures to musical winds to more colors than the rainbow can hold, Lola finds her first home and realizes that just because she can’t remember doesn’t mean The Island isn’t inside her.
Immigration means conforming and assimilating, but that doesn’t mean people should lose their heritage or the identities that come with it.
Lost and Found Cat by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes, illustrated by Sue Cornelison
This beautiful true story relates a family’s journey from war-torn Iraq to Europe as refugees. In August 2015, Sura and her five children escaped Mosul, Iraq, with the aid of a smuggler. The family was instructed to take only what they could carry. However, Sura decided to bring the beloved family cat, Kunkush, but Kunkush would have to be a secret from the smugglers, or they would demand more money.
Kunkush bore a long journey like a champ and remained hidden from the smugglers. When the raft carrying the refugees across the Aegean Sea from Izmir on the Turkish coast to Greece almost sunk, Kunkush ran into the woods on the Greek island of Lesbos and disappeared into the woods.
What happens next is the result of an inspiring cast of people determined to find Kunkush’s family and reunite them. Lost and Found Cat is a tear-jerking immigrant story of love, family, and the kindness of strangers.
Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago, illustrated by Rafael Yockteng
This is the story of a father and daughter as they travel to a new country for a better life. Along the way, the girl counts what she sees, chickens, cows, people, clouds, and even the stars and moon. Occasionally, she asks where they are going, but no one ever answers.
Many families leave their homes searching for better jobs, better living conditions, and better opportunities for their children. Guaranteed that if people could find these in their homelands, they wouldn’t immigrate, but that isn’t the case for some. War, famine, poverty, and politics can drive people from their homes. What might be propelling the girl and her father in Two White Rabbits is unknown, but the illustrations by Rafael Yockteng help fill in some gaps.
Gittle’s Journey, by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates
Gittle is a nine-year-old girl who is about to immigrate with her mother to America from Eastern Europe. When they arrive at the harbor to board their ship, Gittle’s mother is denied entry due to an infection in her eye. Gittle must go on alone. Her mother hands her a note with her cousin’s name and address on it. She instructs Gittle to give the note to the immigration agents in America. “He will help you,” her mother assures her. Along with the note, Gittle’s mother gives her the Shabbos candles.
She boards the ship alone and clutches the note in her hand. When she finally arrives in America, all of the ink has rubbed off the note. The immigration officers are kind to Gittle and let her sit with them while they check in the other passengers. A reporter sees Gittle sitting with the agents wearing one of their hats and asks to take her photo. Gittle’s picture is printed in a Jewish newspaper, and her story is told. Her mother’s cousin reads the story and comes to the harbor to fetch Gittle.
Gittle’s Journey is an amalgam of two immigrant stories from the early 1900s. The first is of author Leslea Newman’s grandmother and great-grandmother’s journey with their family’s Shabbos candlesticks. The second story is of Sadie Gringrass, who traveled to America alone because her aunt had an eye infection. She held her American relative’s address in her hand so tightly during the journey that all the ink rubbed off. Her picture was placed in a local Jewish newspaper where her relatives recognized her.
The idea of immigrating great distances for a better life is not new. Nor are the numerous immigrant stories of children traveling alone. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to leave everything you’ve ever known to get to a new country by yourself as an adult, much less as a child. Such bravery can’t be discounted.
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
A beautiful story of a young mother and baby who immigrate to the United States to see an ill family member quickly become homesick. The pair grow weary, unable to communicate or understand these wide, quiet streets until they find something remarkable; the public library. Here there were more books than they’d ever seen before. Books there were allowed to touch, open, and taken home. Here they learned to read, write, and speak English. Here their dreams came true.
Author Yuyi Morales immigrated to the US with her two-month-old son to see a dying relative. While Morales had planned on going back to Mexico, her immigration statute allowed her to remain. Lost and untethered, Morale’s son’s grandmother took the pair to the San Francisco library. Here they were dazzled by the picture books. Inspired by their beauty, Morales began telling her own immigrant stories. She is now an award-winning children’s book author.
Immigrant stories are part of the fabric of the United States. This country is built on people from other places, bringing their culture, food, ceremonies, beliefs, experiences, and intellect. Children’s books are a safe gateway into other worlds, and reading stories that give children a new perspective helps build empathy, friendship, and social responsibility. When a child sees a face that looks like theirs and reads a story that mirrors their experiences, the effects can be life-changing, especially for the marginalized. Never underestimate the power of a good book.
