Immigration picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.
(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Immigration Picture Books– https://amzn.to/48NBD2O .)
❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗
Home Is a Wish
by Julia Kuo (Author, Illustrator)
Summary: A young girl, her mother, and Amah leave their home for a new one in a different country where everything feels unfamiliar. Over time, they work together to create a new home.
Comments: A gentle book about immigration that would be a wonderful read aloud.
The illustrations were created using Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom tablet.
Rating: 4.5 📗📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page.
Thread by Thread
by Alice Brière-Haquet (Author), Michela Eccli (Illustrator), Sarah Ardizzone (Translator)
Brief summary: A family of mice have their knitted home come apart when more and more yarn unravels. They run away from a fire breathing dragon and go across the water in a knitted red boat to a land where they slowly knit their house back together with the help of other animals using different colored threads until they make a new safe home.
Comments: A wonderful allegory to teach elementary students about refugees and escaping to a new land that is safe.
This story was originally published din France in 2023 and translated to English in 2025.
The illustrations were created with drawing, photography, and yarn.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
*I received a free copy of this book.
A Star Shines Through
by Anna Desnitskaya (Author)
Brief summary: At the beginning of a war, a young girl and her mother flee their country. They settle in a new land with an unfamiliar language and cuisine. Amidst their new surroundings, the girl constructs a cardboard lamp, which she places in the window. It is reminiscent of the one from their previous home, establishing a connection between her past and present.
Comments:
I think this book would comfort those ESL students who realize what they have like the star lamp in the story that makes their new home feel a little bit like their old home.
The Author’s Note recounts her family’s necessity to emigrate due to the war in their home country, Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine.
The illustrations were created with hand-drawn contours and Photoshop.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
*I was sent a complimentary copy of this book.
Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States
by Rajani LaRocca (Author), Huy Voun Lee (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Some people are U.S. citizens by birth, while others arrive from different countries and choose to become naturalized citizens. This picture book offers a meaningful way to introduce the many paths to citizenship and the personal stories behind why people choose to become Americans.
Comments: The illustrations are created with paper samples and Procreate.
The author’s note in the back shares about the author’s own immigration from India and becoming a naturalized citizen.
On a personal note: My mother is an immigrant, and I still remember her carefully reading her workbook, studying for the citizenship test. I watched with pride as she raised her hand to take the Oath of Allegiance, standing alongside others in a naturalization ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus.
This book could be shelved in the picture books or in the nonfiction section of 304.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
*I received a free copy of this book.
Home in a Lunchbox
by Cherry Mo (author and illustrator)
Brief summary: Jun moves from Hong Kong to America and only knows four English words on her first day of school: hello, thank you, I don’t know, and toilet. As the week progresses, she has many frustrations as she learns a new routine, language, and group of people, but lunchtime is when she feels the love of home that helps her to persist.
Comments: This book is a great resource for helping students understand the experiences of new students from other countries. It includes a heartwarming story about students bonding over their favorite foods at lunch, which helps them form deeper connections. This book is particularly valuable for ESL teachers and school counselors to share with new students at school. There are not many words and the story is mainly told with large, colorful illustrations.
I could not find anywhere on the book or her website saying how the illustrations were created for this picture book. The back sections explain Jun’s words on her hand and the food in her lunchbox.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
At the Drop of a Cat
by Élise Fontenaille (Author), Violeta Lópiz (Illustrator), Karin Snelson (Translator), Emilie Robert Wong (Translator).
Summary: A grandson visits his Grandpa Luis every Wednesday and Sunday. His grandpa is not only a talented artist but can make anything grow, creating the beautiful garden where they spend their days. The six-year-old is learning to read and write and tells us that his Grandpa does not know how as he was an immigrant from Spain to France who had to work in the fields as a child.
Comments: This is a French translation and captures the two kindred spirits. I like the mixed-up idioms and how the grandson narrates how he is getting to know Grandpa Luis.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
For more details or to buy, click here (in ENGLISH).
The selected children’s books are chosen by a highly qualified retired elementary school librarian, who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.