Literacy Matters Winter 2022

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Sánchez, Erica (2017). Random House Children’s Books. ISBN: 978-1-5247-0051-5 This emotionally moving book gives insight into the challenges of second generation teenage immigrants born in the U.S. and their struggle to find their identity while being pulled between pressures to adhere to their parents’

Outcasts United —The Story of a Refugee Soccer TeamThat Changed a Town St. John, Warren (2012 ). Random House. ISBN: 978-0-375-98880-6 This book tells the true story of an all-refugee teen soccer team called Fugees near Atlanta, Georgia. Readers learn about the realities of immigrant teens from primarily single-parent homes whose families fled from war zones in countries

cultural expectations and seeking to fit into the new American culture. Readers experience these challenges through the eyes of Mexican-American Julia, who also struggles to process her older sister’s sudden death. This book allows for insightful intercultural discussions of what it means to find yourself as a teenager, whether a child of an immigrant or not. This book is also available in Spanish.

like Liberia and Sudan. They witness how mentors and community are crucial for integrating into a new/foreign culture. A strict soccer coach helps these refugees settle into their new home culture and heal their war traumas. This is an excellent book for sports coaches/physical education teachers (and other educators) to integrate into their work with ELs and other marginalized students.

Literacy Matters Feature Article

The Grief Keeper Villasante, Alexandra (2019) Penguin Random House. ISBN: 978-0525514022 Seventeen-year-old Marisol first describes her life in El Salvador and her fascination with U.S. culture. Then she proceeds to tell the breath-taking story of suddenly having to flee from El Salvador to the U.S. to save her mother’s, her sister’s, and her own life. At the threat

When Stars Are Scattered Jamison, Victoria, and Mohamed, Omar (2020). Dial Books. Illustrator: Victoria Jamison. ISBN: 978 0525553915. This graphic novel, a National Book Award finalist, shares the heart wrenching experiences of a Somali refugee and his nonverbal brother as they grow up in a refugee camp in Kenia. Omar, a refugee, told his

of not being granted asylum and in hopes of keeping her family safe in the U.S., Marisol agrees to participate in an experimental study as a ‘grief keeper,’ which ultimately forces her to face her grief and traumas. This story involves a teen love story and highlights the harsh consequences of war, heartbreak, grief, love, and living with the burden of being undocumented in the U.S.

lived experiences to the author. The details in this story open readers’ hearts to empathy and compassion for the unimaginable situations at refugee camps worldwide. It invites many discussions and may encourage students to engage in community services to support immigrant families. Wordless Picture Books

Refugee Gratz, Alan (2017). Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978 0545880831 In this novel, readers follow three different teenagers in their breath-taking, life-threatening refugee experiences on different continents and across times in history: Josef, a Jewish boy in the 1930s in Germany who escapes a concentration camp; Isabel, a Cuban girl

The Paper Boat — A Refugee Story Thao, Lam (2020). Owlkids Books. Illustrator: Thao Lam. ISBN: 978-1771473637. In this wordless picture book, the author tells an autobiographically inspired story of her family’s escape from a war-stricken Vietnam. It is paralleled by a rescue journey of ants for which the main character folds a paper boat out of a wrapper to

in 1994 who tries to flee to the U.S. on a raft; and Mahmoud, fleeing war-stricken Syria to find safety in Europe. All three strands of stories connect at the end. This book allows for discussions of the traumatizing uprooting of homes due to wars and the search for safety and peace in a foreign country.

send them the ants’ freedom before she and her family board a boat bringing them to a refugee camp. The author’s collage art makes this a book applicable to many age groups and allows emergent bilinguals to comprehend the story without language barriers. This book tells a timeless tale of resilience, faith, and courage, recurring characteristics in refugee and immigration experiences. At the end of the book, the author’s note shares in words the real-life story behind this wordless picture book. A baby photo of the author taken at a Malaysian refugee camp authenticates the story and invites discussion about what children experience in refugee camps. The School Library Journal , The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books , Booklist , and the New York public library have named it the best picture book of 2020.

| 30 | Literacy Matters | Volume 22 • Winter 2022

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS