Stories of moving, belonging, and building a new home.
Immigration stories are family stories. They hold courage, food, language, and the quiet work of belonging somewhere new. This hub is for kids who packed, and for kids who have never had to.
We look for leaving and arriving as a life, not a border lecture. We look for what a family carried that was not in a bag. We skip books that treat a migrant child as a teaching object for the other kids.
The picture-book core is in kids' books about immigration: Dreamers, Islandborn, Watercress, A Different Pond, The Arabic Quilt, My Diary from Here to There, and Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote — the last one with you in the room.
Middle grade: Front Desk is funny in the places most immigrant stories get solemn. Filter by audience when you need the backpack instead of the rug.
What did this family bring with them that was not in a bag? If the child answers “nothing,” wait. The second answer is usually the book. More on that pause: after the last page. Pancho Rabbit is not a lights-out book the first time. Stay in the room for the quiet after.
Related guides: Kids' Books About Immigration and Belonging · Inclusive Middle Grade Books That Aren't a Lesson
12 books · Clear filters
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.
Ages 8–12
When Stars Are ScatteredVictoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.
Ages 8–12
Other Words for HomeJasmine Warga
Jude leaves Syria for Cincinnati in this Newbery Honor novel-in-verse about home and hope.
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.
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.
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 ...
Ages 8–12
Measuring UpLily LaMotte
"Having just moved to Seattle from Taiwan, twelve-year-old Cici enters a cooking competition to win the chance to see her grandmother again, but she only knows how to cook Taiwanese food."--Provided by publisher.
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.
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.
Ages 8–12
The Only RoadAlexandra Diaz
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.
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.
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.
