Ages 8–12
90 Miles to HavanaEnrique Flores-Galbis
Julian and his brothers leave Havana on Operation Pedro Pan and land in a Miami camp where bullies run the yard. Inspired by the author’s childhood. Pura Belpré Honor.
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Alexandra Diaz
The Only Road
Ages 8–12
After a gang kills his cousin in Guatemala, twelve-year-old Jaime and his sister Ángela flee north toward the United States. A Pura Belpré Honor about the journey families should not have to make.
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Why this book
For the child who has already packed, and the one who has never had to.
Who it's for
Ages 8-12. A move, a new country, or a classmate whose story you have never asked about.
Conversation starter
What did this family bring that would not fit in a bag?
Try this
Chapter break. One true sentence about what just happened. Not a summary.
Pair with
Two titles that deepen the same conversation.
Ages 8–12
Breaking ThroughFrancisco Jiménez
Jiménez’s memoir continues after The Circuit: a migrant farmworker student in 1950s California fights to stay in school. Pura Belpré Honor.
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Ages 8–12
Esperanza RisingPam Muñoz Ryan
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the ...
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Ages 8–12
I Lived on Butterfly HillMarjorie Agosín
Celeste Marconi’s peaceful life on Butterfly Hill in Valparaíso, Chile, ends when a dictatorship takes hold. She is sent to Maine while her parents go into hiding — a Pura Belpré Medal novel about exile, waiting, and finding a way home.
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Ages 8–12
Return to SenderJulia Alvarez
After Tyler’s family hires undocumented Mexican workers to save their Vermont farm, he becomes close with Mari Cruz. Letters between the two children hold a secret that could split both families apart. Pura Belpré Medal.
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Ages 8–12
Front DeskKelly Yang
Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. Number 3: She wants to be a writer. It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year.
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Ages 8–12
Harbor MeJacqueline Woodson
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Jacqueline Woodson's first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories.
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Ages 8–12
Inside Out and Back AgainThanhhà Lai
Inside Out & Back Again is a verse novel by Thanhha Lai. The book was awarded the 2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and one of the two Newbery Honors. The novel was based on her first year in the United States, as a ten-year-old girl who spoke no English in 1975.
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