Children's Book Suggestions | Citizenship Status

In honor of the UN's International Day of Migrants, here are a few books for young readers about the experiences of immigrants and refugees.

Updated October 19, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Oregon City Public Library
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What you need to be warm
Gaiman, Neil
Paper Book
A fantastic Christmas present for Neil Gaiman super fans ** AS SEEN ON CHANNEL 4 NEWS ** Sometimes it only takes a stranger in a dark place... to say we have the right to be here, to make us warm in the coldest season.

Newbery Award-winning author Neil Gaiman posed a question on social media (What do you need to be warm?) and used answers submitted by real-life refugees to write the poem that became this book. (Picture Books Age 4-8)

To the other side
Meza, Erika
Paper Book
*Winner of Best Picture Book at the Diverse Book Award 2024* 'A thoughtful, profound, important book' Irish Independent 'A realistic but hopeful look at two children's emigration' Publishers Weekly Powerful and timely, To The Other Side...

A beautifully illustrated tale inspired by the real-life journeys of unaccompanied child migrants from central America. (Picture Book Age 4-8)

Front desk
Yang, Kelly
Paper Book

Another series based on the author's childhood experiences as an immigrant starring a Chinese girl whose parents take over the management of a hotel in 1990s LA. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Refugee
Gratz, Alan
Paper Book
  "A gripping, visceral, and hold-your-breath intense story of three young refugees." - John Green This action-packed novel tackles topics both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the quest for home. JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. ...

Three stories of refugees from different times and places that intertwine in present-day New York City. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

When stars are scattered
Jamieson, Victoria
Ebook
Omar and his brother Hassan, two Somali boys, have spent a long time in the Dadaab refugee camp. Separated from their mother, they are looked after by a friendly stranger. Life in the camp isn't always easy. The hunger is constant . . . but there's football to look forward to, and now there's a...

The Newbery Honor-winning comic artist Victoria Jamieson illustrates the moving story of two brothers in an African refugee camp. (Children's Graphic Novels Grades 3-5)

You don't know what war is : the diary of a young girl from Ukraine
Skalietska, Yeva
Paper Book
***A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR*** *** Shortlisted for the Children's Book of the Year: Older Non Fiction The Week Junior Book Awards*** Featured on This Morning, Steph's Packed Lunch, Radio 4: Today and Channel 4 News _______________ ...

The diary entries of a young girl who escaped Kharkiv when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, providing a timely insight into an ongoing crisis. (Children's Nonfiction Age 9-12)


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