Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Immigrant Stories: Home at Last
When does a new home feel like "home"? When you can speak a new language? When you make friends? When you realize that your neighbors share the same traditions from your native country?
These stories explore what home means to immigrants, from celebrations in the streets of New York City to realizing that you may have more in common with someone from a different country than you had thought. The stories give a poignant voice to children who are often homesick, which may be a helpful basis for discussion in ELL classrooms as students see the characters move towards a hopeful conclusion.
A number of related stories about immigrant children learning English are included in our ELL Stories booklist.
Angelina's Island
Every day, Angelina tells her mother she wants to go home. Not to their new city home, cold and gray and unfamiliar — but their old island home, sunny and colorful and filled with rainbow-colored fruits and birds. Angelina believes she'll never feel at home in this new place, until her mother finds a wonderful surprise in the newspaper. A beautiful tribute to the traditions of the West Indies, Carnival, and the longing for home that young immigrants will recognize immediately.
At Home in a New Land
Carl Erik and his family have finally arrived in Minnesota! They are ready for a new set of adventures, including learning English, planting new crops, and getting to know their Obijway neighbors. This Easy Reader sequel to "The Long Way to a New Land" encourages beginning readers to think about what it really means to feel at home.
Good-Bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong
"My heart beats in two places." So begins the tale of Jangmi, a young girl who is preparing to leave her home in Korea (382 Shin Dang Dong) for a new home in Massachusetts (112 Foster Terrace). Jangmi can't bear the thought of leaving her house, her favorite willow trea, the monsoon rains, and most of all, her best friend Kisuni. Jangmi's story and its hopeful conclusion will resonate with children who have left a beloved home or friend behind.
Grandfather's Journey
A young man travels from his native Japan to the vast country called America before returning to visit his home with his bride. The exquisite watercolors give the appearance of a family photo album as it relates this autobiographical but universal story of immigration.
Country of origin: Japan
I Hate English!
Mei Mei loves to think and write and talk…in Chinese. But at her school in New York City, everything happens…in English. Mei Mei is afraid that if she starts speaking in English, she will lose all that she loves in Chinese, including her friends at home in Hong Kong. Will Mei Mei always hate English as much as she loves Chinese? A humorous and touching story about the difficulty of accepting a new language and home.
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Meet Shirley Temple Wong, a delightful heroine who has come from China and arrived in Brooklyn in 1947 — the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Based on the author's own experiences, the story captures the highs and lows of coming to live in a new country, learning English, and falling in love with the Brooklyn Dodgers during moments that are both heartbreaking and hilarious. A must-read for teachers working with ELLs and newcomer students.
Just Like Home
As a young girl begins to get used to her new life in the U.S., she compares everything around her to life back in her country. Some things — like sharing a big meal with her family — are just like home. Other things, however, like not being able to speak to her classmates easily, are not like home. The simple structure and colorful illustrations of the story provide an interesting model for immigrant or new students to compare one home to another. Bilingual text.
Lights for Gita
Gita is ready for the Hindu celebration of Divali, but she is afraid that it just won't be the same in her new home in Canada. When icy rain prevents the celebration they had planned, Gita becomes even more miserable, until she finds a way to light the darkness and remember Divali's true meaning.
Molly's Pilgrim
Molly, an immigrant, is teased in school for her accent and seemingly odd customs. Horrified when her mother makes a "pilgrim" for Thanksgiving who looks like them — eastern Europeans — Molly finds that she, as well as her teacher and her classmates learn what Thanksgiving really means.
My America: Home at Last
In the second book of Sofia's "My America" stories, Sofia and her family arrive in Boston following her detention at Ellis Island. There is much to explore, and many mysteries to solve. How much should Mama charge for the tortellini she is making? Where is her little brother's pocket money coming from? And will she ever hear from her beloved friend Maureen again? Filled with adventure, humor, and many surprises, readers will find themselves cheering Sofia on as her Italian family adapts to their new life in Boston.
My Chinatown
It's a New Year in Chinatown, but one little boy from Hong Kong wonders, "How can it ever be a good year thousands of miles from home?" As he moves through the seasons, however, New York finally begins to feel like home. Told in verse, these poems capture the challenges of adapting to a new life from a child's point of view. Vivid paintings with a photograph-like quality bring the poems to life.
The Trip Back Home
Based on the author's experience, a child visits the village in Korea where her mother lived before immigrating to America. The simplicity of the text provides rich details of everyday life in the small Korean village, enhanced by realistic illustrations.
Together in Pinecone Patch
"Not long ago, the people of Ireland and the people of Poland knew very little of each other." So begins a tale of young Keara Buckley and Stefan Pazik, who are brought together in a small mining town in Pennsylvania. Both the Irish and Polish families insist that each child have nothing to do with each other, but as time goes on, the two young people realize they have quite a bit in common. Yezerski conveys both hardship and hope through his detailed text and illustrations.
When This World Was New
Danilito is excited about coming to America, but he is also scared — it is so different and cold, and he doesn't speak any English. Then he experiences his first snowfall. After feeling the snowflakes on his cheek and leaving footprints in the snow, he begins to feel a little more confident in this new country. Warm illustrations bring an immigrant family's journey, and their first snowfall, to life.
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