Young readers can join in learning about themes from this year's Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Read with these Youth Reading Lists. Look for expanded lists on the Ann Arbor District Library's website for Grades K–5 and Grades 6–8.
Grades K-5
• My Name is Yoon
by Helen Recorvits
After moving to the United States from Korea, Yoon doesn't like the way her name looks in English, and tries out different names as she finds her place in a new country.
• My Name is Bilal
by Asma Mobin-Uddin
When Bilal and his sister transfer to a school where they are the only Muslims, they must learn how to fit in while staying true to their beliefs and heritage.
• I'm New Here
by Anne Sibley O'Brien
Three children from other countries (Somalia, Guatemala, and Korea) struggle to adjust to their new home and school in the United States.
• My Diary From Here to There
by Amada Irma Perez
A young girl describes her feelings when her father decides to leave their home in Mexico to look for work in the United States.
• Good-Bye, Havana! Hola, New York!
by Edie Colon
When Fidel Castro's government takes over their restaurant in 1960, six-year-old Gabriella and her parents move from Cuba to New York City.
• The Color of Home
by Mary Hoffman
Hassan, newly-arrived in the United States and feeling homesick, paints a picture at school that shows his old home in Somalia as well as the reason his family had to leave.
• Here I Am
by Patti Kim
A story in pictures of a family who has just come to the United States and the challenges of starting life in a new place.
• Mama's Nightingale: A story of immigration and separation
by Edwidge Danticat
When Saya's mother is sent to jail as an illegal immigrant, she sends her daughter a cassette tape with a song and a bedtime story, which inspires Saya to write a story of her own – one that just might bring her mother home.
• My Two Blankets
by Irena Kobald
A homesick little girl who has recently moved to an unfamiliar country comforts herself by clinging to an old blanket, but when she meets a new friend, the relationship helps her take her first steps into a new culture.
• Family Pictures: Stories & Pictures
by Carmen Lomas Garza
The author describes, in bilingual text and illustrations, her experiences growing up in a Hispanic community in Texas.
Grades 6-8
• Return to Sender
by Julia Alvarez
After his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure, eleven-year-old Tyler befriends the oldest daughter, but when he discovers they may not be in the country legally, he realizes that real friendship knows no borders.
• Home Of The Brave
by Katherine Applegate
Kek, an African refugee, is confronted by many strange things at the Minneapolis home of his aunt and cousin, as well as in his fifth grade classroom, and longs for his missing mother, but finds comfort in the company of a cow and her owner.
• Revenge On The Fly
by Sylvia McNicoll
Leaving behind England (and the graves of his mother and baby sister) 12-year-old William sails to Canada with his father, where he joins the campaign to eradicate flies in cities and stop the spread of deadly diseases.
• Inside Out and Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
A young girl's poetry chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
• The Turtle of Oman
by Naomi Shihab Nye
When Aref, a third-grader who lives in Muscat, Oman, refuses to pack his suitcase and prepare to move to Michigan, his mother asks for help from his grandfather, his Siddi, who takes Aref around the country, storing up memories he can carry with him to a new home.
• Shooting Kabul
by N.H. Senzai
Escaping from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in the summer of 2001, eleven-year-old Fadi and his family immigrate to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Fadi schemes to return to the Pakistani refugee camp where his little sister was accidentally left behind.
• 90 Miles to Havana
by Enrique Flores-Galbis
When unrest hits the streets of Havana, Cuba, Julian's parents must make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two brothers away to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation. But when the boys get to Miami, they are thrust into a world where bullies seem to run rampant and it's not always clear how best to protect themselves.
• Under the Mesquite
by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Throughout her high school years, as her mother battles cancer, Lupita takes on more responsibility for her house and seven younger siblings, while finding refuge in acting and writing poetry
• Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes
by Juan Feliipe Herrera
Twenty Hispanic American artists, scientists, athletes, activists and political leaders are profiled in this stunning book, complete with inspirational quotes and distinctive expressionist portraits.
• First Crossing: Stories about Teen Immigrants
by Candlewick Press
Stories of recent Mexican, Venezuelan, Kazakh, Chinese, Romanian, Palestinian, Swedish, Korean, Haitian, and Cambodian immigrants reveal what it is like to face prejudice, language barriers, and homesickness along with common teenage feelings and needs.