18 Books for Kids About the Immigrant Experience in America
by Laura Lambert
“This was the secret of America: a nation of people with the fresh memory of old traditions who dared to explore new frontiers, people eager to build lives for themselves in a spacious society that did not restrict their freedom of choice and action.”
—John F. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrants
Just as true when JFK wrote it as it is today: We live in a nation of immigrants. But what does that mean to a 3-, 6-, or 12-year-old? Maybe they’ve heard about the wall that the president wants to build between the U.S. and Mexico. Or the proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. Maybe they know someone who recently immigrated to the U.S. — and who is struggling to fit in. Maybe immigration is part of their family’s story — or their own.
In my family, almost every single person on my mother’s side is a U.S. immigrant. They came in waves from Seoul, South Korea, the first one in 1951 and the rest following in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. More recently, my older great aunts, distant uncles, and second cousins are moving back to Korea — a boomerang-like twist on the age-old immigrant tale.
I asked my 9-year-old daughter what she knew about immigration. To her, it’s about different-sounding names, different-tasting food, different-looking clothes — and her life is the richer for it. Here are some books to inspire us all to think deeper about our fellow Americans, their stories, and experiences.
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Picture Books
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What Is a Refugee?
Available from:For young readers just learning about the refugee experience, Elise Gravel offers an accessible and affirming introduction; she also addresses why refugees must leave home and how readers can make their community a more welcoming one. The book opens with perhaps the most important message of all, in response to the titular question: “A refugee is a person, just like you and me.”
(Ages 3 - 7)Also available from: -
Danbi Leads the School Parade
Available from:On her first day at her new American school, Danbi has trouble understanding her teacher’s instructions and her classmates’ games. But over lunch, Danbi finds a way to meld her two cultures and create a new game, one everyone can play. An uplifting picture book about finding connection through, not despite, our differences.
(Ages 3 - 7)Also available from: -
The Name Jar
Available from:The Name Jar is one of my daughter’s favorite books — even now that she’s moved on to middle grade reads. It’s a familiar immigrant tale of having an unfamiliar name and feeling like an outsider — that is, until someone kind or brave (or both) makes a gesture of inclusion.
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
Carmela Full of Wishes
Available from:From the creators of The Last Stop on Market Street comes another must-read story on immigration and class. When Carmela finds a dandelion to blow, she ponders all the wishes she could make with it. Will she wish for a candy machine? For her mother to sleep in a bed as nice as the ones she makes every day? Or for her father’s papers to be fixed so he can finally come home?
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
The Wall in the Middle of the Book
Available from:A knight thinks he is on the “safe” side of a wall that separates the two sides of the book, all the while oblivious to the dangers creeping up on his own side. When an ogre from the other side saves him, he learns that he was too quick to judge. A thoughtful lesson on not making assumptions about people and places you don’t know.
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
Dreamers
Available from:In her poignant and intricate picture book memoir, Yuyi Morales, who immigrated to America with her infant son in 1994, captures the experience of starting over in a new land. As Morales writes, leaving everything behind doesn’t mean you bring nothing with you. Your history and family, your dreams and talents — they’re all a part of you, wherever you go.
(Ages 4 - 8)Also available from: -
Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation
Available from:Based on the author’s own experience as a child, a little Haitian girl longs for her mother. Held in a detention center for not having immigration papers, Mama records stories inspired by Haitian folklore for Saya to listen to at bedtime. A much-needed book that holds possibility and hope for families caught in these circumstances.
(Ages 5 - 8)Also available from: -
We Came to America
Available from:We Came to America is a poetic ode to the inherent diversity of the U.S. and an exploration of the many reasons our ancestors immigrated here — willingly and unwillingly, toward hope or away from fear — and the cultural traditions and talents they brought to the melting pot. It’s an essential reminder that, with the exception of Native Americans, whose land we live on, we are all immigrants here.
(Ages 5 - 8)Also available from: -
All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel
Available from:In this Italian-American immigrant story, author Dan Yaccarino shares the story of his own great-grandfather, who arrived at Ellis Island with little more than a shovel and some sage advice — both of which were kept and handed down to four generations of the author’s family. The story is a testament to the bonds many immigrant families strive to keep with their country of origin. In the words of School Library Journal, “This immigration story is universal.”
(Ages 5 - 9)Also available from:
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Middle Grade
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When Stars Are Scattered
Available from:Many of those who immigrate to America first spend years in refugee camps while they wait to be granted entry into a new country. Omar Mohamed and his younger brother, Hassan, Somali refugees separated from their parents, spent most of their boyhoods in one such camp. This remarkable graphic memoir unfolds over 15 years, as Omar and Hassan build a life and community in an overcrowded camp before finally resettling in America.
(Ages 8 - 12)Also available from: -
Kiki and Jacques
Available from:Twelve-year-old Jacques is already experiencing a lot of change in his life, including the death of his mother, when several Somali refugees move to his small town in Maine. Suddenly, Jacques has competition on the soccer team, and there are other growing pains — for both the locals and refugees — as their community becomes a multicultural one. When Jacques strikes up a friendship with Kiki, one of the refugees, his world begins to expand.
(Ages 8 - 12)Also available from: -
One Good Thing About America
Available from:Written in letters from 9-year-old Anaïs to her grandmother Oma, One Good Thing About America is a heartfelt and often amusing portrait of a young girl adjusting to life in “Crazy America,” where her classmates’ phrases and customs seem totally strange (and eventually charming). While she gets to know her new culture, Anaïs also misses the family members she had to leave behind.
(Ages 8 - 12)Also available from: -
Count Me In
Available from:Of course, immigrating to a new country is only the beginning of a long journey. Karina Chopra’s grandfather first moved to America in 1968, but even though the U.S. has long been his home, the color of Papa’s skin inspires a hate crime against him. Karina and her neighbor Chris launch an anti-hate campaign on social media, urging their community (with heartening success) to remember that each of us belongs.
(Ages 10+)Also available from:
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Young Adult
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Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card
Available from:At 13, Sara is just a regular teenager dealing with first loves, friendship drama, and taming her unibrow. Then she learns she’s an undocumented immigrant. Filled with humor and emotion, Sara’s memoir recounts her typical adolescent struggles alongside her fear of deportation and fight to obtain citizenship.
(Young Adult)Also available from: -
Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team That Changed a Town
Available from:This YA-adapted version of a bestselling book of the same name tackles a slightly different genre of the modern immigrant story — refugees. Set in Clarkston, Georgia, this true story follows the Fugees, a youth soccer team with kids from war-torn areas of the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe, and their indefatigable female coach.
(Young Adult)Also available from: -
Enrique’s Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother
Available from:Similar to Outcasts United, Enrique’s Journey is the YA adaptation of a story that began as a Pulitzer Prize-winning series in the Los Angeles Times. This gripping book captures the harrowing reality faced by the waves of immigrants fleeing crime and poverty in Central America — in this case, Honduras. A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book.
(Young Adult)Also available from: -
We Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Adults
Available from:A must-read for teens and grown-ups alike, We Are Here to Stay collects the hopeful and heartrending stories of nine young adults who have lived in America, undocumented, for much of their lives. Originally from Colombia, Mexico, Ghana, Independent Samoa, and Korea, the identities of these writers — once planned to be revealed — were retracted due to the Trump administration’s attempt to repeal DACA, which the Supreme Court eventually overruled.
(Young Adult)Also available from: -
The Grief Keeper
Available from:Alexandra Villasante’s debut is a stunning novel about love and loss with touches of magical realism. As a teenager living in El Salvador, Marisol dreamed of one day moving to America. She didn’t imagine fleeing there, illegally, to keep her sister, Gabi, alive. When Marisol and Gabi are caught at the border, Marisol is offered an unusual opportunity to “earn” their asylum, one she’s desperate enough to accept.
(Young Adult)Also available from:
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2020.