Nativism
1. A feeling or attitude of superiority shown by the natives of a country toward foreigners.
2. The policy of advancing the interests of native inhabitants rather than those of immigrants.
World Book Student, World Book, 2023, https://www.worldbookonline.com/student-new/#/search/nativism/type/di?searchType=basicsearch. Accessed 14 Feb. 2023.
Stacey's Remarkable Books by
Stacey's favorite day of the week is Thursday, when the whole class goes to the library and she gets to lose herself in her beloved books. On one of these special days, Stacey discovers that a new student named Julie has trouble reading in English, so they begin sharing books and stories to practice. Soon, more students start to join them. Books take the group on magical adventures and reveal other worlds and cultures--but best of all, they bring them together as friends. This is another inspiring tale, based on a true story from Stacey Abrams's childhood, about the life-changing power of books.
The name jar by
After Unhei moves from Korea to the United States, her new classmates help her decide what her name should be.
3,585 Miles to Be an American Girl by
Sofia emmigrates with her family from Peru to Indiana. She goes to the public school. Sofia decides to work hard to be an American girl, who is proud to be from Peru, bilingual, and Hispanic.
The matchbox diary by
Follow a girl's perusal of her great-grandfather's collection of matchboxes and small curios that document his poignant immigration journey from Italy to a new country.
I'm an immigrant too! by
Illustrations and simple, rhyming text reveal how all of our lives are enriched by the vibrant cultural diversity immigrants bring to their new communities.
Mustafa by
Mustafa et sa famille ont voyagé très longtemps avant d'arriver dans leur nouveau pays. Certains soirs, le jeune garçon revoit sa terre natale dans des songes remplis de fumée, de feu et de grands bruits, qui le laissent complètement désorienté. Heureusement, sa maman est là pour le serrer dans ses bras et l'aider à se recentrer en sortant avec lui observer la Lune, qui est tout à fait la même que celle de leur ancien pays. Puis, au matin, c'est avec un regard plein d'enthousiasme que Mustafa embrasse les paysages verdoyants qui s'offrent à lui en marchant jusqu'au parc. Quel bonheur d'observer les oiseaux qui sautent de branche en branche, de respirer le parfum frais de l'air, de s'attarder devant les fleurs qui lui rappellent les tasses à thé de sa grand-mère ou de collectionner les cailloux mouchetés, feuilles en forme de coeur et autres trésors qui se trouvent sur sa route! Jour après jour, le héros observe par ailleurs les gens qui fourmillent autour de lui: la fillette qui promène son chat, la vieille dame qui nourrit les pigeons, l'accordéoniste dont la musique serpente comme un ruisseau entre les arbres. Mais, personne ne semble le voir et la barrière de la langue semble infranchissable. Jusqu'au jour où, d'un petit signe de la main, la fille-au-chat lui prouve qu'il n'est pas devenu invisible et établit un contact qui pose les bases d'une belle amitié.
Les mots d'Eunice by
Eunice, 7 ans, a quitté la Côte d'Ivoire avec sa famille et habite désormais à Montréal. Plutôt que de se réjouir de ce voyage vers des horizons meilleurs, le coeur de la fillette est en miettes parce que sa mère n'a pas pu l'accompagner. Ainsi cesse-t-elle de parler et de sourire, les mots se coinçant dans sa gorge comme des taches noires. Gagnée par la tristesse, un événement heureux ramènera cependant le soleil dans ses journées et le rire sur ses lèvres.
Bharatanatyam in ballet shoes by
A girl explores her love of dancing and her cultural identity in a lively picture book with echoes of the real-life collaboration between Bharatanatyam icon Rukmini Devi Arundale and ballerina Anna Pavlova. Paro comes from a dancing family. At home, she dances Bharatanatyam with her mom, and now she's excited to learn ballet. But what if she can't dance like the other kids in her class? Ballerinas move like fairies, while Bharatanatyam dancers seem like queens. Paro can't be both...can she? Anu Chouhan's vibrant, energetic illustrations emphasize themes of creative flexibility and navigating the intersections of different cultural identities.
Here I Am by
Tells the story in pictures of a family newly immigrated to the United States and the challenges of starting a life in a new place.
The Sakura Tree by
Three girls sent away by a father who wishes for them a more prosperous life. Once there lived three Japanese sisters: The eldest sister's name was Aki, which means autumn. She was named this because she was as graceful as the gold and red colored leaves that swirl gently to earth in the autumn breeze. The middle sister's name was Fuyu, which means winter. She was named this because her skin was as fair as the whitest winter's snow. The youngest sister's name was Haruko, which means spring. She was named this because her silky, black hair smelled of the sweetest spring blossoms. The gently eloquent tale follows the progress of three so-called "picture brides" who come to Canada in the early twentieth century, three girls sent away by a father who wishes for them a more prosperous life than he can provide in their hometown of Sendai. Reluctant as they are to leave home, the sisters are nonetheless obedient to their father's wishes. Each takes with her one item that will remind her of their home. One brings a kimono, another a violin, but the youngest, Haruko, brings three seeds of the sakura tree. The sisters arrive on the shores of British Columbia, where their husbands await. Each joins the husband to whom she has been promised, and each has her own way of remembering the family and country she has left behind. Haruko plants the sakura seeds, each of which grows into a cherry tree. One spring, the blossoms swirl away in the wind, and are carried to the doorsteps of the two other sisters. The blossoms remind the sisters of Haruko and their Japanese home. Following the blossoms, they find Haruko's home and the three are reunited under the sakura trees to remember their lives together. This is a book about the meaning of family and home and an exploration of Japanese culture in Canada.
La valise by
Un drôle d'animal à la silhouette inconnue attire l'attention d'un lapin, d'un coq et d'un renard. Ils aimeraient savoir ce que le voyageur transporte dans sa valise. L'étranger leur assure que sa valise contient une simple tasse, sa maison et la colline sur laquelle elle est bâtie. Puis, il s'endort épuisé par son long voyage. Pendant son sommeil, les trois amis qui se méfient de lui décident de forcer le verrou sur son bagage. Dans la valise, il y a bien une tasse et la photo de la maison du drôle d'animal. Avant son réveil, pour se faire pardonner, le trio d'animaux va lui reconstruire une maison et réparer sa valise. Ils deviendront également amis.
You are life by
You are . . .You are . . .You are . . . Every child is full to bursting with amazing things! This joyful poem celebrates the wonderful and complex identity of children of immigrants and refugees, embracing all that they are--a dancer, a shining light, a K-pop song--and promising what they will never be: invisible. Award-winning picture book author and poet Bao Phi and illustrator Hannah Li remind young readers through lyrical text and fantastical illustrations that who they are and what they love will always be enough.
My name is Yoon by
Disliking her name as written in English, Korean-born Yoon, or "shining wisdom," refers to herself as "cat," "bird," and "cupcake," as a way to feel more comfortable in her new school and new country.
The Day You Begin by
Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.
Ghost train by
When a Chinese peasant girl, Choon-yi, who has only one magical arm, learns of her father's death, she returns to China, where her father's ghost tells her to paint the "fire car" that rides the rails he helped build, and her paintings come alive to transports home the souls of the laborers who died while building the railway.
Wishtree by
An old red oak tree tells how he and his crow friend, Bongo, help their human neighbors get along after a threat against an immigrant family is carved into the tree's trunk.
An ocean apart : the Gold Mountain diary of Chin Mei-ling by
Mei-ling lives with her father in Vancouver, but her mother and baby brother are still in China. Mei-Ling works after school, and her father holds down several jobs, in a frantic effort to come up with the head tax that will allow her mother and brother to come to Canada. They must have that money before the Exclusion Act bars any more Chinese from immigrating. Mei-ling cannot stop thinking about what will happen if they are unable to come up with the money to reunite their family?
A prairie as wide as the sea; the immigrant diary of Ivy Weatherall by 
Zara's Rules for Record-Breaking Fun by
Ten-year-old (nearly eleven) Zara's nickname is "Queen of the Neighborhood" because she organizes the other children (even the older ones), sets the rules, and generally makes sure everyone has fun; but now another ten-year-old, Naomi, has moved in across the street and she has her own ideas about fun games, and suddenly the other kids (even Zara's younger brother Zayd) are listening to Naomi -- if she is going to retain her influence Zara needs to come up with something quick, and an old copy of the Guinness Book of World Records gives her an idea.
Inside out & back again by
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
A sea of sorrows : the typhus epidemic diary of Johanna Leary by
In the midst of the Irish famine, Johanna flees one disaster - only to land in another. After a massive potato famine strikes Ireland, thirteen-year-old Johanna Leary flees to Canada with her family. But typhus and other illnesses plague the 'coffin ships,' so named for the staggering number of immigrants who died enroute. One by one Johanna loses the members of her family - first her baby brother on the journey over, then her mother in the Grosse Isle fever sheds where sick passengers are quarantined when they reach the port of Québec, and her father soon after. Johanna has only her brother Michael left when she sets foot on Canadian soil. When her brother is mistakenly told that she too has died, he sets off to find their uncle 'somewhere in Canada,' leaving Johanna to face a new life in a strange land... totally alone. A Sea of Sorrows captures a dreadful time in history for those desperate, impoverished Irish families who hoped to make Canada their home.
Everything sad is untrue by
At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much. But Khosrou's stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment he, his mother, and sister fled Iran in the middle of the night, stretching all the way back to family tales set in the jasmine-scented city of Isfahan, the palaces of semi-ancient kings, and even the land of stories. We bounce between a school bus of kids armed with paper clip missiles and spitballs, to the heroines and heroes of Khosrou's family's past, who ate pastries that made them weep, and touched carpets woven with precious gems. Like Scheherazade in a hostile classroom, author Daniel Nayeri weaves a tale of Khosrou trying to save his own life: to stake his claim to the truth. And it is (a true story). It is Daniel's.
The Princess Dolls by
Set in Vancouver's Japan Town in 1942 and following two close friends, a Jewish 10-year-old girl named Esther and a Japanese Canadian 10-year-old girl named Michiko who fall in love with two dolls - Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth. Needless to say there are tears and drama, involving the forced resettlement of Michiko and her family and the disappearance of Esther's great-aunt Anna, who remains in Germany.
Front desk by
Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade class, the other being Mr. Yao's son, Jason.
Les deux moitiés de l'amitié by
L'amitié de Salah et Sarah naît d'un numéro téléphonique composé au hasard. Ils sont tous deux en C.M.2. L'un est Arabe, l'autre, Juive. Chacun se confie à l'autre. Une histoire toute simple et sincère.
Pashmina by
Indian-American teen, Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri's mom avoids these questions and the topic of India is permanently closed. For Pri, her mother's homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she finds a mysterious pashmina shawl tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film.
WeirDo by
Weir Do, the new kid in school with an unforgettable name, desperately tries to fit in and win the attention of Bella Allen, his crush.
The Day You Begin by
Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.
When the Cherry Blossoms Fell by
Short-listed for the 2012 Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Award and for the 2011 Hackmatack Children's Choice Award Nine-year-old Michiko Minagawa bids her father good-bye before her birthday celebration. She doesn't know the government has ordered all Japanese-born men out of the province. Ten days later, her family joins hundreds of Japanese-Canadians on a train to the interior of British Columbia. Even though her aunt Sadie jokes about it, they have truly reached the "Land of No". There are no paved roads, no streetlights and not streetcars. The house in which they are to live is dirty and drafty. At school Michiko learns the truth of her situation. She must face local prejudice, the worst winter in forty years and her first Christmas without her father.
Islandborn by
Lola was just a baby when her family left the Island, so when she has to draw it for a school assignment, she asks her family, friends, and neighbors about their memories of her homeland ... and in the process, comes up with a new way of understanding her own heritage.
Front Desk (Front Desk #1) by
Inside Out and Back Again meets Millicent Min, Girl Genius in this timely, hopeful middle-grade novel with a contemporary Chinese twist.Winner of the Asian / Pacific American Award for Children's Literature!* "Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewMia Tang has a lot of secrets.Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?Front Desk joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content! elp the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?Front Desk joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content! elp the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?Front Desk joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content! elp the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?Front Desk joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!
Room to Dream (Front Desk #3) by
Mia Tang is going for her dreams!After years of hard work, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family — to China! A total dream come true! Mia can't wait to see all her cousins and grandparents again, especially her cousin Shen. As she roams around Beijing, witnessing some of the big changes China's going through, Mia thinks about the changes in her own life, like . . .1. Lupe's taking classes at the high school! And Mia's own plans to be a big writer are . . . stuck.2. Something happened with Jason and Mia has no idea what to do about it.3. New buildings are popping up all around the motel, and small businesses are disappearing.Can the Calivista survive? Buckle up! Mia is more determined than ever to get through the turbulence, now that she finally has . . . room to dream!
Three Keys (Front Desk #2) by
The story of Mia and her family and friends at the Calivista Motel continues in this powerful, hilarious, and resonant sequel to the award-winning novel Front Desk.Mia Tang thinks she's going to have the best year ever.She and her parents are the proud owners of the Calivista Motel, Mia gets to run the front desk with her best friend, Lupe, and she's finally getting somewhere with her writing!But as it turns out, sixth grade is no picnic...1. Mia's new teacher doesn't think her writing is all that great. And her entire class finds out she lives and works in a motel! 2. The motel is struggling, and Mia has to answer to the Calivista's many, many worried investors.3. A new immigration law is looming and if it passes, it will threaten everything -- and everyone -- in Mia's life.It's a roller coaster of challenges, and Mia needs all of her determination to hang on tight. But if anyone can find the key to getting through turbulent times, it's Mia Tang!
My Year in the Middle by
It is 1970 in Red Grove, Alabama. Sixth-grader Lu just wants to get along with everyone, but growing racial tensions will not let Lu stay neutral about the racial divide in school. Her old friends have been changing lately--acting boy crazy and making snide remarks about Lu's newfound talent for running track. Lu's secret hope for a new friend is fellow runner Belinda Gresham, but blacks and whites don't mix.
Mustafa by
Mustafa and his family traveled a long way to reach their new home. Some nights Mustafa dreams about the country he used to live in, and he wakes up not knowing where he is. Then his mother takes him out to the balcony to see the moon -- the same moon as in their old country. In the park, Mustafa sees ants and caterpillars and bees -- they are the same, too. He encounters a "girl-with-a-cat," who says something in a language that he can't understand. He watches an old lady feeding birds and other children playing, but he is always looking in from the outside and he feels that he is invisible. But one day, the girl-with-the-cat beckons to him, and Mustafa begins to become part of his new world. Marie-Louise Gay's remarkable ability to write and illustrate from the perspective of a young child is movingly exhibited in this gentle, thoughtful story about coming to feel at home in a new country. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
The Color Collector by
The Color Collector is a poignant story about newness, friendship, and common ground. When a boy notices the new girl picking up all manner of debris and litter on their walks home from school he wants to know why. So she shows him the huge mural she's created in her room that reminds her of the home she left behind. He learns all about where she's come from and they both find how wonderful it is to make a new friend.
Esperanza Rising by
Esperanza Rising joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content! Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-because Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.
Save Me a Seat by
A new friend could be sitting right next to you. Save Me a Seat joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL.Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common -- but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.
Inside Out and Back Again by
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
The Chinese head tax and anti-Chinese immigration policies in the twentieth century by
The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Canada in the mid-1800s searching for gold and a better life. They found jobs in forestry, mining, and other resource industries. But life in Canada was difficult and the immigrants had to face racism and cultural barriers. Thousands were recruited to work building the Canadian Pacific Railway. Once the railway was finished, Canadian governments and many Canadians wanted the Chinese to go away. The government took measures to stop immigration from China to Canada. Starting in 1885, the government imposed a Head Tax with the goal of stopping immigration from China. In 1923 a ban was imposed that lasted to 1947. Despite this hostility and racism, Chinese-Canadian citizens built lives for themselves and persisted in protesting official discrimination. In June 2006, Prime Minister Harper apologized to Chinese Canadians for the former racist policies of the Canadian government. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives from Chinese Canadians who experienced the Head Tax or who were children of Head Tax payers, this book offers a full account of the injustice of this period in Canadian history. It documents how this official racism was confronted and finally acknowledged.
Anti-Semitism and the MS St. Louis : Canada's anti-Semitic immigration policies in the twentieth century by
An introduction to Canada's long history of anti-Semitic immigration policies. In 1939, the MS St. Louis sailed for Cuba with nearly a thousand Jewish men, women, and children looking for safety. They were turned away by Cuba, then the US, then Canada.
The Komagata Maru and Canada's anti-Indian immigration policies in the twentieth century by
Describes how in 1917, Great Britain declared that all people from India were officially British citizens and could live anywhere in the British Commonwealth, but Canada refused to accept them.
Japanese Canadian internment in the Second World War by
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Canadian residents living in BC were forced to move to internment camps with inadequate living conditions. Males were forced into slave labour. After years of pressure, the Canadian government apologized for the internment. Includes historical photographs, documents and first person narratives from Japanese Canadians who endured the camps.
Italian Canadian internment in the Second World War by
Through historical photographs, documents and first-person narratives, this book offers an account of Italian Canadian internment in World War II. Includes links to video clips.
Areli is a dreamer : a true story by
When Areli was just a baby, her mama and papa moved from Mexico to New York with her brother, Alex, to make a better life for the family--and when she was in kindergarten, they sent for her, too. Everything in New York was different. Gone were the Saturdays at Abuela’s house, filled with cousins and sunshine. Instead, things were busy and fast and noisy. Areli’s limited English came out wrong, and schoolmates accused her of being illegal. But with time, America became her home. And she saw it as a land of opportunity, where millions of immigrants who came before her paved their own paths. She knew she would, too. This is a moving story--one that resonates with millions of immigrants who make up the fabric of our country--about one girl living in two worlds, a girl whose DACA application was eventually approved and who is now living her American dream. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an immigration policy that has provided relief to thousands of undocumented children, referred to as “Dreamers,” who came to the United States as children and call this country home.
The distance between us by
At the age of 8, Reyna Grande made the dangerous and illegal trek across the border from Mexico to the United States, and discovered that the American Dream is much more complicated that it seemed
C'est quoi un réfugié? by
Contraints de quitter leur pays pour échapper à la guerre, au gouvernement qui les menace pour leurs opinions ou aux persécutions liées à leur religion ou à leurs différences, les réfugiés doivent faire preuve de beaucoup de courage pour espérer vivre en paix et en sécurité. Afin de répondre à la question formulée dans son titre, cet album illustre avec justesse et simplicité les sacrifices que ces derniers ont dû faire, dont abandonner leurs proches, laisser derrière eux leur maison et leurs biens, voyager dans des conditions difficiles et être hébergés dans des camps où l'eau potable, la nourriture et les vêtements se font rares. Néanmoins, leur détermination ainsi que l'altruisme et la tolérance des gens leur permettront d'aller à l'école, de se faire des amis et de travailler, comme tout le monde, quoi! Les deux dernières doubles pages recueillent les témoignages de six enfants réfugiés d'origines différentes, avant de faire le portrait de sept personnalités célèbres qui ont été réfugiées au cours de leur vie.
Our new home : immigrant children speak by
Presents the words and drawings of children from China, India, Russia, Argentina, Germany, and other countries, in which they describe their feelings about moving to Canada.
97 Orchard Street, New York : stories of immigrant life by
Imagine growing up on Orchard Street in 1916. If you were a member of the large Confino family you'd be living in 325 square feet of space. The only fresh air and natural light would come from the two windows in the front room. No heat, no water, no bathtub, no shower. Toilet in the hall.The Confinos' apartment is only one part of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, an extraordinary facility in New York City. The Museum has restored 97 Orchard Street to provide us with an opportunity to understand the immigrant experience shared by millions who have come to North America.In text and with archival photos, Linda Granfield tells the story of four families, including the Confinos, who called 97 Orchard Street home, and provides information about the period, the history of the house, and the neighborhood, bringing to life conditions that were familiar to immigrants in many of North America's big cities. The stories and archival materials are beautifully complemented by Arlene Alda's sensitive photographs that evoke the hardship, the dignity, and the hope encompassed in 97 Orchard Street.The book includes useful facts, information about the Museum and its efforts to help new immigrants who share similar experiences. Whether or not the reader can visit the Museum itself, this book is a valuable resource in understanding our own histories in North America.
The immigrant experience by 
Pier 21 : stories from near and far by
A chronicle of Pier 21, and of those who passed through, in this visually appealing and beautifully written story, bringing to life an important chapter in Canadian history.
Internment by
A terrifying, futuristic United Sates where Muslim-Americans are forced into internment camps, and seventeen-year-old Layla Amin must lead a revolution against complicit silence.
The beauty of the moment by
Seventeen-year-old Susan Thomas's future is set. Or so everyone else says. No one knows that her parents are on the verge of a divorce in Canada after years of a happy marriage in Saudi Arabia. Or that Susan wants to be an artist and not a doctor or engineer. Susan has no intention of letting them know. She can't afford to lose focus, not at a new school in a different country, when so much of her future is already at stake. Malcolm Vakil raised hell at age fifteen, when his mother died of cancer, and two years later is still known as the boy with a Bad Reputation and No Future. Stuck under the same roof as his adulterer father and hated stepmother, Malcolm's biggest goal is to move out and make a better future for himself and his younger sister, Mahtab. When Susan and Malcolm meet at Arthur Eldridge High School in Mississauga, attraction grows along with distrust. When their school puts forth calls for an artist to design posters for a charity event for Syrian refugees in Canada organized in large part (to everyone's surprise) by Malcolm, Susan secretly applies, not expecting her designs to be selected. And when a fight erupts at the event, with Malcolm at its center, they are brought together, and to the realization they must be honest with their families, and about their feelings for each other.
We Are Not Free by
For fourteen-year-old budding artist Minoru Ito, her two brothers, her friends, and the other members of the Japanese-American community in southern California, the three months since Pearl Harbor was attacked have become a waking nightmare: attacked, spat on, and abused with no way to retaliate--and now things are about to get worse, their lives forever changed by the mass incarcerations in the relocation camps.
Girl mans up by
In Ontario, Pen is a sixteen-year-old girl who looks like a boy. She's fine with it, but everyone else is uncomfortable--especially her Portuguese immigrant parents and her manipulative neighbor who doesn't want her to find a group of real friends.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by
Clinically-depressed Darius Kellner, a high school sophomore, travels to Iran to meet his grandparents, but it is their next-door neighbor, Sohrab, who changes his life.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by
With the threat of deportation looming over her father--in spite of his hard-won citizenship and disavowal of Communism--seventeen-year-old American-born Chinese Lily Hu pursues a relationship with her Caucasian classmate Kath. Includes author's note.
Riot by
In 1863, fifteen-year-old Claire, the daughter of an Irish mother and a black father, faces ugly truths and great danger when Irish immigrants, enraged by the Civil War and a federal draft, lash out against blacks and wealthy "swells" of New York City.
You bring the distant near by
From 1965 through the present, an Indian American family adjusts to life in New York City, alternately fending off and welcoming challenges to their own traditions.
Americanah by
A story of love and race centered around a man and woman from Nigeria who seemed destined to be together, until the choices they are forced to make tear them apart. Spanning three continents, entering the lives of a richly drawn cast of characters across numerous divides, Americanah is a story of love and expectation set in today's globalized world.
Open City by
Feeling adrift after ending a relationship, Julius, a young Nigerian doctor living in New York, takes long walks through the city while listening to the stories of fellow immigrants until a shattering truth is revealed.
A brilliant night of stars and ice by
Based on the remarkable true story of the Carpathia--the only ship and her legendary captain who answered the distress call of the sinking Titanic. Just after midnight on April 15, 1912, the passenger steamship Carpathia receives a distress signal from the largest passenger liner ever built, RMS Titanic, which is on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. Captain Arthur Rostron is awakened to an enormous maritime emergency with little information to guide his actions in answering the call for help. Is the dire threat to the unsinkable Titanic accurate? His ship is more than four hours away; will Carpathia hold together if pushed to never-before-tested speeds? What if his ship also strikes an iceberg? How many of Titanic's 2,200 passengers will the Carpathia be able to accommodate? And with the freezing temperatures, will there be any survivors by the time the Carpathia arrives? Kate Connolly is excited to join her sister in America and proud to be traveling on the grand Titanic, which was built in her Irish homeland. As a passenger in third-class accommodations, she is among the last to receive instruction and help after Titanic hits an iceberg. Among the chaos of abandoning ship, the chances of her securing a spot in a lifeboat appear grim. With the help of several men, also from Ireland, Kate finally reaches the upper decks and feels lucky to board Lifeboat 13, although no one knows if or when a rescue ship will come. She fears the icy water and wonders if they'll all freeze to death. After seeing their magnificent ship submerge into the abyss, and hearing the cries of hundreds of fellow passengers drowning, it is almost too much to bear and Kate fleetingly thinks succumbing to her ordeal is the easiest escape. Told in alternating chapters from the perspective of Captain Rostron on the Carpathia and Kate Connolly on the Titanic, this historical novel is a compelling, heart-pounding account of two eyewitnesses to an epic disaster. Rostron's heroic and compassionate leadership, his methodical preparations for rescue, and his grit and determination to act honorably and selflessly to save lives and care for the survivors, sets the course for this awe-inspiring story.
American Dirt by
Lydia Quixano Perez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. Even though she knows they'll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with four books he would like to buy-two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia's husband's tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same. Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia-trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier's reach doesn't extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?
Transcendent kingdom : a novel by
A novel about faith, science, religion, and family that tells the deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanaian immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief, narrated by a fifth year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford school of medicine studying the neural circuits of reward seeking behavior in mice.
A river of stars : a novel by
In a powerful debut novel about motherhood, immigration, and identity, a pregnant Chinese woman makes her way to California and stakes a claim to the American dream. Holed up with other moms-to-be in a secret maternity home in Los Angeles, Scarlett Chen is far from her native China, where she worked in a factory job and fell in love with the owner, Boss Yeung. Now she's carrying his baby. Already married with three daughters, he's overjoyed because the doctors confirmed he will finally have the son he has always wanted. To ensure that his son has every advantage, he has shipped Scarlett off to give birth on American soil. U.S. citizenship will open doors for their little prince. As Scarlett awaits the baby's arrival, she chokes down bitter medicinal stews and spars with her imperious housemates. The only one who fits in even less is Daisy, a spirited teenager and fellow unwed mother who is being kept apart from her American boyfriend. Then a new sonogram of Scarlett's baby reveals the unexpected. Panicked, she escapes by hijacking a van--only to discover that she has a stowaway: Daisy, who intends to track down the father of her child. They flee to San Francisco's bustling Chinatown, where Scarlett will join countless immigrants desperately trying to seize their piece of the American dream. What Scarlett doesn't know is that her baby's father is not far behind her.
Ties that tether by
When a Nigerian woman falls for a man she knows will break her mother's heart, she must choose between love and her family. At twelve years old, Azere promised her dying father she would marry a Nigerian man and preserve her culture, even after immigrating to Canada. Her mother has been vigilant about helping -- well, forcing -- her to stay within the Nigerian dating pool ever since. But when another match-made-by-mom goes wrong, Azere ends up at a bar, enjoying the company and later sharing the bed of Rafael Castellano, a man who is tall, handsome, and... white. When their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something serious, Azere is caught between her feelings for Rafael and the compulsive need to please her mother. Soon, Azere can't help wondering if loving Rafael makes her any less of a Nigerian. Can she be with him without compromising her identity? The answer will either cause Azere to be audacious and fight for her happiness, or continue to be the compliant daughter.
The Namesake by
A portrait of the Ganguli family from their traditional life in India through their arrival in Massachusetts in the late 1960s, and their difficult melding into an American way of life.
A short history of tractors in Ukrainian by
When their recently widowed father announces that he plans to remarry, sisters Vera and Nadezhda realize that they must learn to put aside a lifetime of bitter rivalry in order to save him. The new woman in his life is a voluptuous gold digger from Ukraine, fifty years his junior, with fabulous breasts and a proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine, who will stop at nothing in her single-minded pursuit of the luxurious Western lifestyle she dreams of. But separating their addled and annoyingly lecherous dad from his new love will prove to be no easy feat - in terms of sheer cold-eyed ruthlessness, the two sisters swiftly realize they have just entered the major leagues. As Hurricane Valentia turns the old family house upside down, all the old secrets come falling out, including the most deeply buried one, from the war, the one that explains much about why Nadezhda and Vera are so different. In the meantime, oblivious to it all, their father carries on with the great work of his dotage - a grand history of the tractor and its role in human progress, giving due credit to the crucial Ukrainian contribution. The story carries us back to prerevolutionary Ukraine, through wartime Germany, to contemporary England, taking in love and suffering, tanks and tractors, bitchiness, sibling rivalry, and, above all, the joys of growing old disgracefully.
Hotline : a novel by
It's 1986, and Muna Heddad is in a bind. She and her son have moved to Montreal, leaving behind a civil war filled with bad memories in Lebanon. She had plans to find work as a French teacher, but no one in Quebec trusts her to teach the language. She needs to start making money, and fast. The only work Muna can find is at a weight-loss center as a hotline operator. All day, she takes calls from people responding to ads seen in magazines or on TV. On the phone, she's Mona, and she's quite good at listening. These strangers all have so much to say once someone shows interest in their lives--marriages gone bad, parents dying, isolation, personal inadequacies. Even as her daily life in Canada is filled with invisible barriers at every turn, at the office Muna is privy to her clients' deepest secrets. Even though she's pretending to be someone else, her natural empathy can't help but shine when listening to the confidential tribulations of people who, elsewhere in life, wouldn't sit with her for lunch or offer her a job.
The golden house : a novel by
When powerful real-estate tycoon Nero Golden immigrates to the States under mysterious circumstances, he and his three adult children assume new identities, reinventing themselves as emperors living in a lavish house in downtown Manhattan. Arriving shortly after the inauguration of Barack Obama, he and his sons, each extraordinary in his own right, quickly establish themselves at the apex of New York society, even as Nero Golden continues to raise huge buildings carrying his name in gold letters. The story of the powerful Golden family is told from the point of view of their Manhattanite neighbour and confidant, Rene, an aspiring filmmaker who finds in the Goldens the perfect subject. Rene chronicles the undoing of the house of Golden: the high life of money, of art and fashion, a sibling quarrel, and unexpected metamorphosis, the arrival of a beautiful former model, betrayal and murder, and far away, in their abandoned homeland, some decent intelligence work that could ruin Nero Golden forever.
Shanghai girls : a novel by
In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discrimination, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown’s old ways and rules. At its heart, Shanghai Girls is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. Along the way they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are–Shanghai girls.
The Joy Luck Club by
Master storyteller Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters in this New York Times bestseller. "The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational."--Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians In 1949 four Chinese women-drawn together by the shadow of their past-begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and "say" stories. They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club. Nearly forty years later, one of the members has died, and her daughter has come to take her place, only to learn of her mother's lifelong wish--and the tragic way in which it has come true. The revelation of this secret unleashes an urgent need among the women to reach back and remember...
Brooklyn by
Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, Colm Tóibín's sixth novel, Brooklyn, is set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, when one young woman crosses the ocean to make a new life for herself.
Digging to America : a novel by
Two families awaiting the arrival of their adopted infant daughters from Korea meet at the airport. The families lives become interwined after the Donaldsons, a young American couple invite the Yazdan's, Maryam, her son and his Iranian American wife to an arrival party, which becomes an annual event. Maryam, who came to this country thirty-five years earlier, feels her values threatened when she is courted by a newly widowed Donaldson. A penetrating light on the American way as seen from two perspectives, those who are born here and those who are still struggling to fit in.
How to pronounce knife : stories by
After a boxer loses his dream of becoming a championship fighter, he finds an unexpected chance at redemption while working at his sister's nail salon. A daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in her mother's growing infatuation with country singer Randy Travis. When a seventy-year-old woman begins a relationship with her much younger neighbour, her assumptions about the limits of love unravel. As he watches his wife gradually drift into an affair with her boss, a school bus driver must grapple with what he's willing to give up in order to belong. And in the title story, a young girl's unconditional love for her father transcends the fickleness of language.
Alexis d'Haïti by
Accusé d'être le chef de rébellion, le père d'Alexis est emprisonné. Pour son épouse et son fils, il est plus prudent de partir. Janine vend tout pour payer le passeur. Alex donne sa chienne à son copain. Ils s'entassent à quarante dans un voilier conçu pour dix personnes. Le bateau échoue sur la plage de Key West. La police amène les réfugiés de la mer dans un camp. Ils ont quitté leur pays pour la liberté, risqué leur vie et les voilà derrière des barbelés. Alexis est malade. Son corps se révolte contre la nourriture et son âme contre les clôtures qui les entourent. Mathurin tente de le calmer. Le garçon harangue les siens, les incite à agir, à se tenir, à réclamer Ayabombe (liberté). Leurs cris sont entendus
Alexis, fils de Raphaël by
Le père d'Alexis est en prison à Haïti. Lui et sa mère sont à Miami dans un camp de réfugiés. Ils sont confrontés à la réalité américaine et au mépris des agents de l'immigration. L'oncle Étienne a l'autorisation de les parrainer. Il les fait venir à Montréal. Alexis s'adapte rapidement grâce à l'école et aux amis qu'il s'y fait dont Sara, une Québécoise dont les parents sont haïtiens d'origine. Ils forment un comité de solidarité pour la libération de Raphaël Jolet, le père d'Alexis. La mère de Sara, récemment divorcée, n'apprécie guère les fréquentations de sa fille. Raphaël Jolet arrive à Montréal. Il n'est plus que l'ombre de lui-même et doit être hospitalisé. L'action des jeunes ne s'arrête pas là. En plus de vouloir faire le bonheur de leurs parents, ils songent à s'en prendre à la violence faite aux jeunes Noirs et au racisme.
Moi, Félix 10 ans, sans-papiers by
Félix, immigrant clandestin, raconte comment lui, sa mère, son frère et sa soeur sont arrivés en France à bord d'un cargo. Ils ont mis les pieds sur la terre promise après être descendus d'un bac à déchets. L'oncle Massoudé leur a offert l'hospitalité. Leur présence a été signalée aux autorités. Seul Félix échappe aux policiers. Son oncle l'envoie chez des amis à Rennes. En chemin il se heurte au racisme, mais aussi à la compassion. SDM.,Une tranche de vie sombre et réaliste.
Les neuf dragons by
Trente ans plus tard, Pierre (Thing) Nguyen se remémore les trois moments qui ont marqué son existence de manière profonde. Il raconte ainsi la fin de son enfance à Villeray alors que son père, patient et affectueux, tenait un dépanneur et que sa mère veillait à ne rien lui révéler du Vietnam. Il se rappelle de Charles, un bum du quartier qu'il avait pris à tort pour un frère de sang dans une virée nocturne infernale. Puis il évoque la mort d'une amie vietnamienne de sa mère qui légua à sa famille la garde de sa fille âgée de quatre mois. Une adoption qui sème la pagaille dans la famille et les mène tous en voyage au Vietnam. Il y fait la rencontre déterminante de Cuu Long, un enfant de la rue avec qui il se lie jusqu'au-delà de la mort.
Chambre 703 by
À la suite d'un tremblement de terre important en Haïti, un frère et une soeur se retrouvent orphelins. Leur projet est d'abord de se rendre en Floride, mais les choses ne se passent pas exactement comme prévu. D'un autre côté, des enquêteurs sont sur le point d'appréhender un proxénète dans les environs de Montréal. En découvrant Alyxia, une victime en provenance d'Haïti, il leur faudra essayer de comprendre son histoire.
La route de Chlifa by
Karim se fait mal à son pays d'adoption. Ses souvenirs, la route vers Chlifa parcourue avec Maha, sont trop frais à sa mémoire.
Barsakh by
À quelques semaines de ses 18 ans, Sam a quitté son Ghana natal et les siens pour tenter de rallier l'Europe, afin d'y trouver du travail et une vie meilleure. Émilie, jeune Norvégienne nantie, passe ses vacances aux Canaries. Lors d'un jogging, elle aperçoit une barque contenant des immigrants à l'agonie. Elle leur sauve la vie et décide de les aider. Cette rencontre va bouleverser sa vie. SDM.,Un roman dense, très bien écrit, qui aborde les thèmes de l'immigration clandestine (passeurs, violences, traversée, soif, faim, danger de mort, peur). Elle fait se rencontrer Émilie, une adolescente anorexique, mais au coeur et au courage immenses, et Samuel, un des Africains rescapés d'une éprouvante traversée en mer. Entre les deux ados, c'est une rencontre immédiate et profonde. Ils se posent des questions, se racontent leurs existences en des voix qui alternent. Que d'injustice, que de désillusions. Que d'espoirs aussi. Et c'est Samuel qui a frôlé la mort de près qui aidera Émilie à se remettre sur le chemin de la vie.
La traversée des mondes by
Une rencontre ... Il ne faut guère plus que deux personnes qui frottent ensemble leur vie comme des bâtons pour que le feu prenne et que lʹimaginaire démarre sur les chapeaux de roues. Mais cette rencontre a lieu à deux époques différentes : la Nouvelle-France au tournant du 17e siècle et Montréal en lʹan 2000. Lʹun sʹappelle Mateus da Costa, il est originaire du Congo et sera considéré comme le premier Noir à mettre le pied en Amérique du Nord. Lʹautre, Mario Estéban, est un exilé politique chilien qui a choisi le Québec pour refaire sa vie.
Ru by
Ru est composé de très courts récits liés un peu comme dans une ritournelle: la première phrase du chapitre reprend le plus souvent l'idée qui terminait le chapitre précédent, permettant ainsi de faire le pont entre tous les événements que la narratrice a connus: sa naissance au Vietnam pendant la guerre, la fuite avec les boat people, son accueil dans une petite ville du Québec, ses études, ses liens familiaux, son enfant autiste, etc. La vie de l'auteure est bourrée de gens charmants, singuliers, de situations difficiles ou saugrenues vécues avec un bonheur égal, et elle sait jouer à merveille avec les sentiments du lecteur.
La traversée by
Sam, jeune Africain improvisé capitaine d'un bateau de clandestins, tente d'amener tout ce monde à bon port, c'est-à-dire l'eldorado des côtes italiennes. Mais la mer et la tempête en ont décidé autrement. Très vite, le navire se retourne et tout le monde tombe à l'eau. Les voilà perdus en pleine mer sans grand espoir de survie. Sam va tenter coûte que coûte de sauver ses compagnons d'infortune, mais les cadavres s'accumulent. Blessé, épuisé, Sam se souvient alors par à-coups de la façon dont il en est arrivé là. Le récit oscille entre passé et présent, nous découvrons ainsi le périple de Sam. Il revient sur son enfance, ses déboires, son départ depuis son pays jusqu'à la Lybie où les passeurs vont le faire embarquer.
Les Portugais by
A dix-huit ans, Mario s'enfuit du Portugal dans le coff re d'une vieille voiture. Lâché par son passeur à la frontière franco-espagnole, il rencontre Nel. Avec ce jeune compatriote, il va découvrir la vie aventureuse des émigrés dans un bidonville de la région parisienne : travail sur les chantiers, soirées arrosées au vinho verde, drague, combines... Cette histoire d'amitié singulière fait écho au destin des milliers de Portugais qui, dans les années 1970, ont fui la dictature de Salazar et ont tenté, chacun à leur manière, de reconstruire leur vie.
The best we could do : an illustrated memoir by
The author describes her experiences as a young Vietnamese immigrant, highlighting her family's move from their war-torn home to the United States in graphic novel format.,"Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.
Himawari House by
A young adult graphic novel about three foreign exchange students and the pleasures, and difficulties, of adjusting to living in Japan.Living in a new country is no walk in the park--Nao, Hyejung, and Tina can all attest to that. The three of them became fast friends through living together in the Himawari House in Tokyo and attending the same Japanese cram school. Nao came to Japan to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, while Hyejung and Tina came to find freedom and their own paths. Though each of them has her own motivations and challenges, they all deal with language barriers, being a fish out of water, self discovery, love, and family.
Illegal by
Ebo is alone. His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life, the same journey their sister set out on months ago. But Ebo refuses to be left behind in Ghana. He sets out after Kwame and joins him on the quest to reach Europe. Ebo's epic journey takes him across the Sahara Desert to the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and finally out to the merciless sea. But with every step he holds on to his hope for a new life, and a reunion with his family.
Displacement by
A teenager is pulled back in time to witness her grandmother's experiences in World War II-era Japanese internment camps in Displacement, a historical graphic novel from Kiku Hughes. Kiku is on vacation in San Francisco when suddenly she finds herself displaced to the 1940s Japanese-American internment camp that her late grandmother, Ernestina, was forcibly relocated to during World War II. These displacements keep occurring until Kiku finds herself "stuck" back in time. Living alongside her young grandmother and other Japanese-American citizens in internment camps, Kiku gets the education she never received in history class. She witnesses the lives of Japanese-Americans who were denied their civil liberties and suffered greatly, but managed to cultivate community and commit acts of resistance in order to survive. Kiku Hughes weaves a riveting, bittersweet tale that highlights the intergenerational impact and power of memory.
When Stars Are Scattered by
Omar and his younger brother Hassan live in a refugee camp, and when an opportunity for Omar to get an education comes along, he must decide between going to school every day or caring for his nonverbal brother in this intimate and touching portrayal of family and daily life in a refugee camp.
The Magic Fish by
Real life isn't a fairytale. But Tíên still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tíên, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay?
The Arrival by
A truly remarkable work of art that is already one of the most talked-about books of the season."Tan's lovingly laid out and masterfully rendered tale about the immigrant experience is a documentary magically told." -- Art Spiegelman, author of Maus"An absolute wonder." -- Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis"A magical river of strangers and their stories!" -- Craig Thompson, author of Blankets"A shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city. Wordless, but with perfect narrative flow, Tan gives us a story filled with cityscapes worthy of Winsor McCay." -- Jeff Smith, author of Bone"Shaun Tan's artwork creates a fantastical, hauntingly familiar atmosphere... Strange, moving, and beautiful." -- Jon J. Muth, Caldecott Medal-winning author of Zen Shorts"Bravo." -- Brian Selznick, Caldecott Medal-winning author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret"Magnificent." -- David Small, Caldecott Medalist
Seuls by
Afshin, 13 ans, vient de Téhéran, en Iran, tandis qu'Alain, 13 ans, est originaire de Bujumbura, au Burundi, et Patricia, 16 ans, de Kampala, en Ouganda. Tous trois parcourent des milliers de kilomètres avant de parvenir au Canada. Tous trois sont seuls. Bien que ses proches s'inquiètent, le premier est excité à l'idée de la guerre, se voyant déjà intégrer les rangs de l'armée. Pour ses parents, la seule pensée qu'Afshin connaisse le même sort que ses cousins ne les enchante guère, de sorte qu'ils l'envoient à l'étranger dans le secret le plus absolu. Le second apprend à la radio que son père a été arrêté et que le reste de sa famille reçoit des menaces, contraignant sa mère, ses frères et lui à faire leurs valises. Du côté de la troisième, qui a grandi dans la misère, elle sera probablement jetée derrière les barreaux si s'ébruite sa relation amoureuse avec une autre adolescente. En camion, en autobus ou en avion, chacun échappe à une mort certaine pour trouver d'abord la solitude, avant de se reconstruire, dans l'espoir d'un futur meilleur.
Voces sin fronteras : our stories our truth : nuestras historias nuestra verdad : true comics from the Latin American Youth Center
During a time of heated immigration debate and unrest, this book is an opportunity to hear directly from youth who are often in the headlines but whose stories don't get told in full. Sixteen young people from the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) in Washington, D.C. came together to tell their own stories of immigration and transformation in comics form. The result is this side-by-side bilingual collection of graphic memoirs that not only builds connections across language, but also breaks down barriers and expands hope. The authors of this collection are members of the Latino Youth Leadership Council of the Latin American Youth Center in Washington, DC. This group of teen immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean are dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and social justice in their community. The book was produced through a collaboration with Shout Mouse Press, a nonprofit writing program and publishing house for unheard voices. Learn more at shoutmousepress.org *** En tiempos de inquietud y acalorados debates sobre la inmigraci n, este libro representa una oportunidad para escuchar directamente a los j venes quienes suelen ocupar los titulares en la prensa, pero cuyas historias no se alcanzan a narrar por completo. Diecis is j venes del Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) en Washington, D.C. se unieron para contar sus propias historias de inmigraci n y de transformaci n en formato de c mic. El resultado es esta colecci n de memorias gr ficas biling e, que no s lo construye conexiones entre los idiomas, sino que tambi n elimina barreras y abre un espacio a la esperanza.
American Born Chinese by
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.
Immigrant City by
David Bezmozgis, the writer who brought us the "pointed, emotionally resonant tales" (The Globe and Mail) of Natasha and Other Stories, brings us a new collection, his first in more than a decade. In the title story, a father and his young daughter stumble into a bizarre version of his immigrant childhood. A mysterious tech conference brings a writer to Montreal where he discovers new designs on the past in "How it Used to Be." A grandfather's Yiddish letters expose a love affair and a wartime secret in "Little Rooster." In "Roman's Song," Roman's desire to help a new immigrant brings him into contact with a sordid underworld. At his father's request, Victor returns to Riga, the city of his birth, and has his loyalties tested by the man he might have been in "A New Gravestone for an Old Grave." And, in the noir-inspired "The Russian Riviera," Kostya leaves Russia to pursue a boxing career only to find himself working as a doorman in a garish nightclub in the Toronto suburbs. In these deeply-felt, slyly humorous stories, Bezmozgis pleads no special causes but presents immigrant characters with all their contradictions and complexities, their earnest and divided hearts.
Little Gods by
On the night of June Fourth, a woman gives birth in a Beijing hospital alone. Thus begins the unraveling of Su Lan, a brilliant physicist who until this moment has successfully erased her past, fighting what she calls the mind's arrow of time. When Su Lan dies unexpectedly seventeen years later, it is her daughter Liya who inherits the silences and contradictions of her life. Liya, who grew up in America, takes her mother's ashes to China--to her, an unknown country. In a territory inhabited by the ghosts of the living and the dead, Liya's memories are joined by those of two others: Zhu Wen, the woman last to know Su Lan before she left China, and Yongzong, the father Liya has never known. In this way a portrait of Su Lan emerges: an ambitious scientist, an ambivalent mother, and a woman whose relationship to her own past shapes and ultimately unmakes Liya's own sense of displacement. A story of migrations literal and emotional, spanning time, space and class, Little Gods is a sharp yet expansive exploration of the aftermath of unfulfilled dreams, an immigrant story in negative that grapples with our tenuous connections to memory, history, and self.
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by
An authentic novel about growing up in an Asian immigrant family with a mother who is suffering from a debilitating mental illness.Anna Chiu has her hands full. When she's not looking after her brother and sister or helping out at her father's restaurant, she's taking care of her mother, whose debilitating mental illness keeps her in bed most days. Her father's new delivery boy, Rory, is a welcome distraction and even though she knows that things aren't right at home, she's starting to feel like she could be a normal teen.But when her mother finally gets out of bed, things go from bad to worse. And as her mother's condition worsens, Anna and her family question everything they understand about themselves and each other.The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is a heart-wrenching, true-to-life exploration through the often neglected crevices of culture, mental illness, and family. Its strong themes are balanced by a beautiful romance making it a feel-good, yet important read. >>>
This Muslim American life : dispatches from the War on Terror by
Moustafa Bayoumi reveals what the War on Terror looks like from the vantage point of Muslim Americans.
Love & courage : my story of family, resilience, and overcoming the unexpected : a memoir by
Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal. Every part of Jagmeet Singh's full name reflects a part of his identity. Jagmeet--the intelligent, warm "friend to the world." Singh--the great grandson of a Punjabi freedom fighter who defended his people against injustice. Jimmy--the kid who grew up on the hardscrabble streets of Windsor. Dhaliwal--the son of immigrants who chanced it and uprooted themselves in Canada for a better life. With wisdom, warmth, and compassion, Love & Courage tells the stories behind each of those names. The son of Indian immigrants, Jagmeet Singh grew up in Windsor, and he learned at an early age that the world was not always be kind. Early experiences with racism and prejudice made Jagmeet question his place in the society around him as he fought on the streets and in the classroom to carve out a safe space for himself. But while the society around him sought to bring him down, Jagmeet's family lifted him up. Whenever Jagmeet returned home bruised or battered by the outside world, his mother repeated the same words: "We are all one. We are all connected." Drawing on his heritage and history, Jagmeet began to see the world through a new lens. To prove to a world that said, again and again, that he didn't have value, Jagmeet worked hard to be the best at everything he did. Martial arts, school, sports--he excelled at everything he tried. Still, he didn't want to simply push past others. He wanted to connect to them. Slowly but surely, Jagmeet learned the truth of his mother's words. As he broke down the barriers around him, Jagmeet came to define his life in two words: love and courage. Love & Courage is the story of how those two words came to define Jagmeet's life. It is a testament to the courage it takes to love those around us, and proof of the fact that we can't live without either one.
How Dare the Sun Rise by
Sandra Uwiringiyimana was just ten years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. The rebels had come at night -- wielding weapons, torches, machetes. She watched as her mother and six-year-old sister were gunned down in a refugee camp, far from their home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The rebels were killing people who weren't from the same community, the same tribe. In other words, they were killing people simply for looking different. "Goodbye, life," she said to the man ready to shoot her. Remarkably, the rebel didn't pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped into the night. Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. With no home and no money, they struggled to stay alive. Eventually, through a United Nations refugee program, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic disconnect. Sandra may have crossed an ocean, but there was now a much wider divide she had to overcome. And it started with middle school in New York. In this memoir, Sandra tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, and of her hope for the future.
Forgiveness : a gift from my grandparents by
When the Second World War broke out, Ralph MacLean traded his quiet yet troubled life on the Magdalen Islands in eastern Canada for the ravages of war overseas. On the other side of the country, Mitsue Sakamoto and her family felt their pleasant life in Vancouver starting to fade away after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Ralph found himself one of the many Canadians captured by the Japanese in December 1941. He would live out his war in a prison camp, enduring Pestilence, beatings, starvation, and a journey on a hell ship to Japan to perform slave labour, watching his friends and countrymen die all around him. Mitsue and her family were ordered out of their home and were packed off to a work farm in rural Alberta, leaving many of their possessions behind. By the end of the war, Ralph was broken but had survived. The Sakamotos lost everything when the community centre housing their possessions was burned to the ground, and the $25 compensation from the government meant they had no choice but to start again. Forgiveness intertwines the compelling stories of Ralph MacLean and the Sakamotos as the war rips their lives and their humanity out of their grasp. But somehow, despite facing such enormous transgressions against them, the two families learned to forgive. Without the depth of their forgiveness, this book's author, Mark Sakamoto, would never have existed.
I was their American dream : a graphic memoir by
"A portrait of growing up in America, and a portrait of family, that pulls off the feat of being both intimately specific and deeply universal at the same time. I adored this book."--Jonny Sun "[A] high-spirited graphical memoir . . . Gharib's wisdom about the power and limits of racial identity is evident in the way she draws."--NPR WINNER OF THE ARAB AMERICAN BOOK AWARD * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR * The New York Public Library * Kirkus Reviews I Was Their American Dream is at once a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid. Malaka Gharib's triumphant graphic memoir brings to life her teenage antics and illuminates earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised. Malaka's story is a heartfelt tribute to the American immigrants who have invested their future in the promise of the American dream. Praise for I Was Their American Dream "In this time when immigration is such a hot topic, Malaka Gharib puts an engaging human face on the issue. . . . The push and pull first-generation kids feel is portrayed with humor and love, especially humor. . . . Gharib pokes fun at all of the cultures she lives in, able to see each of them with an outsider's wry eye, while appreciating them with an insider's close experience. . . . The question of 'What are you?' has never been answered with so much charm."--Marissa Moss, New York Journal of Books "Forthright and funny, Gharib fiercely claims her own American dream."--Booklist "Thoughtful and relatable, this touching account should be shared across generations."- Library Journal "This charming graphic memoir riffs on the joys and challenges of developing a unique ethnic identity."- Publishers Weekly
Dreamer by
This honest, engrossing graphic memoir tells the story of professional athlete and activist Akim Aliu's incredible life as a hockey prodigy in Canada. Akim Aliu -- also known as "Dreamer" -- is a Ukrainian-Nigerian-Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the world and who experienced systemic racism at every turn. Dreamer tells Akim's incredible story, from being the only Black child in his Ukrainian community, to his family struggling to make ends meet while living in Toronto, to confronting the racist violence he often experienced both on and off the ice. This is a gut-wrenching and riveting graphic novel memoir that reminds us to never stop dreaming, and is sure to inspire young readers everywhere. "With honesty and courage, Akim Aliu's Dreamer will inspire readers of all ages to move confidently in the direction of their future." - Colin Kaepernick
The best we could do : an illustrated memoir by
he author describes her experiences as a young Vietnamese immigrant, highlighting her family's move from their war-torn home to the United States in graphic novel format.
How to understand Israel in 60 days or less by
Sarah Glidden is a progressive Jewish American twentysomething who is both vocal about and critical of Israeli politics in the Holy Land. When a debate with her mother prods her to sign up for a Birthright Israel tour, Glidden expects to find objective facts to support her strong opinions. During her two weeks in Israel, Glidden takes advantage of the opportunity to ask the people she meets about the fraught and complex issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but their answers only lead her to question her own take on the conflict. Simple linework and gorgeous watercolours spotlight Israel's countryside, urban landscapes, and religious landmarks. With straightforward sincerity, lovingly observed anecdotes, and a generous dose of self-deprecating humour, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less is accessible while retaining Glidden's distinctive perspective. Over the course of this touching memoir, Glidden comes to terms with the idea that there are no easy answers to the world's problems, and that is okay.This debut book landed on several best-of-the-year lists, including Entertainment Weekly's; earned a YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens distinction; and won an Ignatz Award. Her second book, Rolling Blackouts, which documents her experience shadowing journalists in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, will also come out this fall from Drawn & Quarterly.
In the country we love : my family divided by
The star of Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virginpresents her personal storyof the real plight of undocumented immigrants in this country Diane Guerrero, the television actress from the megahitOrange is the New Black andJane the Virgin, was just fourteen years old on the day her parents were detained and deported while she was at school. Born in the U.S., Guerrero was able to remain in the country and continue her education, depending on the kindness of family friends who took her in and helped her build a life and a successful acting career for herself, without the support system of her family. In the Country We Love is a moving, heartbreaking story of one woman's extraordinary resilience in the face of the nightmarish struggles of undocumented residents in this country. There are over 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US, many of whom have citizen children, whose lives here are just as precarious, and whose stories haven't been told. Written with bestselling author Michelle Burford, this memoir is a tale of personal triumph that also casts a much-needed light on the fears that haunt thedaily existence of families likes the author's and on a system that fails them over and over.
Americanized : rebel without a green card by
At thirteen, bright-eyed, straight-A student Sara Saedi uncovered a terrible family secret: she was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, she didn't learn of her undocumented status until her older sister wanted to apply for an after-school job, but couldn't because she didn't have a Social Security number. Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn't keep her from being a teenager. She desperately wanted a green card, along with clear skin, her own car, and a boyfriend. From discovering that her parents secretly divorced to facilitate her mother's green card application to learning how to tame her unibrow, Sara pivots gracefully from the terrifying prospect that she might be kicked out of the country to the almost-as-terrifying possibility that she might be the only one without a date to the prom.
Almost American girl : an illustrated memoir by
A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life.
They Called Us Enemy by
A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love. George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future. In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard. They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. What is American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do? To answer these questions, George Takei joins co-writers Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker for the journey of a lifetime.
We, the others : allophones, immigrants and belonging in Canada by
Ungrateful, opportunistic, moochers, dangerous, incompatible with our values and our way of life? Every immigrant demographic has heard these descriptors at some point in their migration history. We, the Others takes a contemporary look at the xenophobia, ethno-nationalism, and fear of the other that leads to discrimination and the belief that immigration is a polluting force. Rooted in the author?s personal family history as the second-generation daughter of Greek immigrants, and from her research as a journalist and columnist covering identity politics and social issues in Quebec and Canada for the past 20 years, Drimonis courageously tackles this country?s history and practices, divisive legislation like Bill 21, and various nationalist movements that have influenced policy. We, the Others is a poignant look at inter-generational struggles, conflicting loyalties and heartfelt questions of belonging.
Hopes, needs, rights, & laws : how do governments and citizens manage migration and settlement? by
As our world becomes "smaller", how do governments and citizens manage and react to migration and settlement? Themes explored in this intriguing book include: rights and laws-freedom of movement across borders, human rights, seeking asylum, and immigration controls; the different types of migrants-asylum seekers, refugees, illegal immigrants, the undocumented labor force; coping with migration-migrants need safety, schooling, health care, and housing. How can governments provide this to new populations? How do existing citizens view the help given to incomers? How can governments and citizens promote tolerance, encourage integration, and celebrate diversity?
Migration in the 21st century : how will globalization and climate change affect migration and settlement? by
With fossil fuels and water running out, and temperatures and sea levels rising due to climate change, whole communities will need to move and resettle. How will human migrations on this scale be managed in our modern world? This foreword-looking book explores these important issues as well as the solutions being put forward by politicians, experts, NGOs, and private citizens.
Immigration by
Challenging the notions that immigrants steal jobs away from qualified Canadians, abuse the healthcare system, and refuse to participate in Canadian culture, this investigation delves into the realities of immigrating to Canada. Contending that the country’s historical immigration policies have always been fundamentally racistfavoring whites unless hard laborers were neededthe survey argues that current policies continue to favor certain kinds of applicants. The number of highly trained and educated professionals who have recently immigrated is highlighted, revealing how few of them find work in their area of expertise despite their potential for making significant contributions. Asserting that deeply ingrained racism, suspicion, and fear create obstacles for immigrants, this study also illustrates how Canada requires construction workers, nannies, and agricultural workersbut how very few immigrants who do this work qualify for citizenship. Underscoring the need to move beyond the myths, this volume encourages an immigration policy that meets the needs of Canadian society.
Native : dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian life by
Sayed Kashua has been praised by the New York Times as "a master of subtle nuance in dealing with both Arab and Jewish society." An Arab-Israeli who lived in Jerusalem for most of his life, Kashua started writing with the hope of creating one story that both Palestinians and Israelis could relate to, rather than two that cannot coexist together. He devoted his novels and his satirical weekly column published in Haaretz to telling the Palestinian story and exploring the contradictions of modern Israel, while also capturing the nuances of everyday family life in all its tenderness and chaos. With an intimate tone fueled by deep-seated apprehension and razor-sharp ironic wit, Kashua has been documenting his own life as well as that of society at large: he writes about his children's upbringing and encounters with racism, about fatherhood and married life, the Jewish-Arab conflict, his professional ambitions, travels around the world as an author, and--more than anything--his love of books and literature. He brings forth a series of brilliant, caustic, wry, and fearless reflections on social and cultural dynamics as experienced by someone who straddles two societies. Written between 2006 and 2014, Native reads like an unrestrained, profoundly thoughtful personal journal.
Hispanic Americans by 
