Recent media attention on refugees and immigrants has me thinking about how to talk with kids about big topics. It’s easy to oversimplify the issues involved – political conflict, war, race, gender, hatred, allies, enemies, history – but understanding the fine distinctions is tougher. So here’s a short list of good children’s and teen books which touch on the struggles of refugees and immigrants. It’s a way to start the conversation, at least, and to get kids and teens thinking about the many perspectives involved.
I Lived on Butterfly Hill, Marjorie Argosín
A Long Walk to Water: a novel, Linda Sue Park
Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai
Esperanza Rising, Pam Muñoz Ryan
Never Fall Down, Patricia McCormick
The Language Inside, Holly Thompson
Shooting Kabul, N.H. Senzai
The Red Pencil, Andrea Davis Pinkney
Outcasts United: the Story of a Refugee Soccer Team that United a Town, Warren St. John
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