Literacy Matters Winter 2022

Building the Bridge to Compassion and Cooperation with Children’s Literature about the Lives of Immigrants and Refugees

by Elke Schenider

Books for Elementary Level Students Stepping Stones — A Refugee Family’s Story

The use of diversity-sensitive literature matters significantly in today’s classrooms, given the current socio-cultural and racial turmoil depicted in the news daily. It is crucial to help children and adolescents embrace the diversities represented in society with empathy, compassion, and curiosity. Research shows this can be achieved through literature about diverse cultures (Kuehl, 2021; Newstreet et al., 2019). To this end, the following selection of 21 children’s/adolescents books focuses on refugee and immigration experiences of English learners (ELs) and their families; a population frequently discussed nationwide in the media. It is also relevant since the Carolinas are experiencing one of the most significant influxes of ELs (USDE-NCES, 2018). ELs’ home languages are not English. They and their families go through a variety of language acquisition and acculturation phases that are intertwined and are influenced by migration experiences. Since teachers and their students meet immigrants and refugees of different kinds in their classrooms, readers are introduced to struggles of three common subgroups: a) first generation immigrants who personally immigrated from another country, some with and some without refugee camp experiences, b) 1.5 generation immigrants who left their home countries as teens with minimal or some school experiences, and c) second generation immigrants who were born in the new country but who are being raised within the parents’ home culture who are integrating into the new culture (Ariza & Coady, 2018). The presented books can serve as discussion resources regarding the worldwide refugee crisis to build empathy and compassion by introducing non-immigrant children to the kinds of challenges and gifts ELs and their families can bring to in school and outside-of-school communities. They can also serve as bibliotherapy for ELs to support acculturation and success in school and process traumatic immigration experiences (Osorio, 2018; Rubio Cancino & Buitrago Cruz, 2019). Criteria used to select the following immigration books include (1) fiction and nonfiction literature in the forms of novels and picture books with and without words, (2) representation of various cultures (i.e., Latinx, Korean, Hmong, Sudanese, Syrian, or German), (3) books for early childhood students and adolescents, and (4) different types of immigrant experiences (i.e., refugee/ first-generation, 1.5/second generation immigrant experiences), and (5) a mix of classic and newer publications on the topic. The first 12 books are written for elementary-level readers. Seven books are written for teenagers/young adults, and the last two wordless books are for students with low language skills of any age.

Author: Ruurs, M. (2016). Orca Books. Illustrator/Artist: Nizar Ali Badr. Translator: Falah Raheem. ISBN: 978-1-4598-1490-5 In simple, poetic language, a young child describes the hardships of fleeing from

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a warzone once a peaceful home and shares initial integration experiences in a new culture. This Syrian refugee story is timely as a mass migration currently sweeps through Europe, impacting the US. Its stone collage images are unique in that the author collaborated with a Syrian artist who designed the images to use in this book. Stepping Stones is a story of hope and a reminder to welcome immigrants in a way that helps them heal the scars they may have as refugees. This story’s simple language structures and unique art invite ELs and peers to connect to and tell their own stories. Essential components of supporting ELs’ integration involve being listened to and respected for their migration challenges and integrating their multicultural identities into the classroom (for examples of bibliotherapy questions, see Rubi Cancino & Buitrago Cruz, 2019).

Marianthe’s Story — Painted Words—Spoken Memories Brandenberg, Aliki (2019). Greenwillow Books.

(original edition 1998). ISBN: 0-688-15662-2

In this story, Aliki, the author, and illustrator, shares her own language acquisition experiences and acculturation as a Greek immigrant. Her bright illustrations and simple text

structures help readers understand what it is like to enter school in a foreign country without speaking the language and with a limited understanding of the new culture. This book contains two stories. Both stories highlight the importance of showing empathy and using images, gestures, and oral language to support ELs. Readers are introduced to the acculturation and language learning experiences called ‘painted words when you start reading from the front cover.’ The reader can then flip the book and start reading it from the back cover to learn more about this initial acculturation in ‘spoken memories.’

Literacy Matters | Volume 22 • Winter 2022 | 27 |

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