Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
This book has everything going for it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wind up caring about the characters, and you'll want to eat at the Golden Palace in Last Chance, Minnesota.
immigrants
The Voice of My Heart
It works well to read poems here and there from The Voice of My Heart ... but I often find myself caught up in the expressions of love and longing, moving from one poem to the next, contemplating, learning, feeling.
Samira Surfs
I don't think I've ever read a novel about surfing before Samira Surfs. I was fascinated by the setting, the sport, and the culture, different than my own.
Refugees
Heard on the news: “No one wants to be a refugee.” Here's a look at four picture books that share the refugee experience with young readers.
We Are the Future
We Are the Future: Poems with a Voice for Peace is impossible to read without being deeply moved by the open hearts and minds of refugee and immigrant youth in the Seattle area, guided by poets and teachers Merna Hecht and Carrie Stradley.
Anita Dualeh and Her Reading Team
April 2020
In this addition to Raising Star Readers, we check in again on Anita Dualeh and her Reading Team. Along with many of us, they’re using books as a distraction and a consolation while living with the massive changes brought about by the threat of COVID-19. Here’s how Anita describes this shared moment of history-in-the-making:
In the past month, my kids haven’t had much formal schooling.… more
Books about Somali Immigrants/Refugees
In an effort to help my children understand more about their own heritage, I have searched far and wide for books by or about Somali immigrants or refugees. Here are some of the best ones we have found. Though a number of these titles have not been written by Somalis, they have at least been informed by input from members of this community.
… more imagine
There are times when I open a new book that my pulse quickens and times when I need to be convinced. Sometimes I can sense myself sliding comfortably into the surroundings of a picture book, feeling welcomed, understanding everything about the book because it is so well crafted. That’s this book.
First off, this is an autobiography … so as a mentor text it is ideal. … more
Chasing Peace: Refugee Stories
This summer, deeply troubling stories about migrants and refugees at the US-Mexican border have come to us in newspaper stories, recordings, photographs, and videos. In choosing to separate children from their parents, our government has shown a disturbing lack of empathy for people fleeing violence and turmoil in their home countries. It is our hope that these picture books will help foster empathy and shed light on the complex issues of migration for young readers, while giving a sense of the courage, resilience, and humanity behind each journey.… more
Merna Ann Hecht and Our Table of Memories
When one poet, Merna Ann Hecht, and one educator, Carrie Stradley, observed their community, their schools, their students, and realized that a plethora of life experiences surrounded them, they put their teaching and their hearts together to create The Stories of Arrival: Refugee and Immigrant Youth Voices Poetry Project at Foster High School, in Tukwila, Washington.… more
Bookstorm: The Shadow Hero
In this Bookstorm™:
Shadow Hero
written by Gene Luen Yang
illustrated by Sonny Liew
First Second, 2014 As we become a culture adapted to screens, visuals, and moving pictures, we grow more accustomed to the storytelling form of the graphic novel. For some, their comfort with this combination of visuals and text telling a story satisfies a craving to “see” the story while they’re reading.… more
illustrated by Sonny Liew
First Second, 2014 As we become a culture adapted to screens, visuals, and moving pictures, we grow more accustomed to the storytelling form of the graphic novel. For some, their comfort with this combination of visuals and text telling a story satisfies a craving to “see” the story while they’re reading.… more