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Best Children's Books on Immigration

Grandfather's Journey
When he was a young man, Allen Say’s grandfather left his home in Japan to explore the world. For years, Say continued writing and illustrating children's books on a part-time basis.
Reviews
"Short, easy to read text combined with beautifully simple illustrations tell the story of Mr. Say’s grandfather, who split his life between Japan and the United States, longing for both."
"I love reading this with my students who have all come from other country's and can relate to missing one country when you are in the other."
"But, overall, this is a great book."
"A great way to get children excited about reading, learning and discussing a variety of topics."
"I've bought several copies because I keep giving mine away as gifts to adults who I know will find it moving because they've experienced something similar."
"A beautiful story that so caringly follows the life of a Japanese immigrant who comes to the United States (but the story is a universal one).."
"This is a wonderful book to read with beautiful art work for a kindergartener to enjoy."
"I have lived overseas, so the story of a man who loves both Japan and America, and longs for America when he is in Japan and vice versa, really touched me."
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Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey
This heartwarming true story about one lost cat's journey to be reunited with his refugee family gently introduces children to a difficult topic and shows how ordinary people can help with compassion and hope. “Bound to be a hit with cats and kids alike , this picture book tells the harrowing story of a cat who was separated from his family when they fled from Iraq and the amazing way he found his way home again .” —People.com. Sue has worked as a full-time illustrator for over a decade.
Reviews
"This book is is based on a sad, sweet true story that will touch the hearts of everyone who loves cats and who understands. the love between people and their cats."
"Beautiful, touching story."
"Highly recommended as a way to teach your kids about the refugee crisis-- especially animal-loving kids!"
"This is a beautiful story."
"The true story of a refugee family from Iraq that lost their cat along the way and were reunited through the goodness of strangers and the ability to reconnect via social media."
"Beautiful story!"
"It shows how refugees cross the sea looking for a safe place for their families."
"An inspirational true story about a refugee cat lost in Greece and returned months later to its owners living in Norway."
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Her Right Foot
In this fascinating and fun take on nonfiction, Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris investigate a seemingly small trait of America's most emblematic statue. What they find in the Statue of Liberty's right foot is the powerful message of acceptance that is essential of an entire country's creation. A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. A School Library Journal Best Picture Book of the Year. A 2018 Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book. A Junior Library Guild selection. "In a time when immigration is a hot-button issue, it's good to be reminded that Lady Liberty continues to lift her lamp beside the golden door." – Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books , starred review. – School Library Journal , starred review.
Reviews
"We follow its design, construction and transport to the U.S., with neat factoids scattered through the brief, snappy captions to the spare but colorful and expressive drawings. As the book progresses, though, we gently and obliquely touch on the grander importance of Lady Liberty and what she represents. This is a timely reminder of what it means to have been, and to still be, and to continue to be, a nation of immigrants, but without any explicit soapboxing."
"My grandson loves this book and he learns from it as well."
"This children's book provides the reader with a brief history of the Statue of Liberty and then light-heatedly discusses her symbolism."
"This was a Christmas gift for my daughter and she is enjoying reading it."
"Bought this to add to my book unit on immigration!"
"This is a wonderful book!"
"This is a beautiful story sharing a wonderful message."
"We preordered this beautiful book months ago, because my four year old son LOVES the Statue of Liberty and I just want to recommend it to everyone."
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Best Children's American History of 1800s

Locomotive (Caldecott Medal Book)
The Caldecott Medal Winner, Sibert Honor Book, and New York Times bestseller Locomotive is a rich and detailed sensory exploration of America’s early railroads, from the creator of the “ stunning ” ( Booklist ) Moonshot. The substantial text is delivered in nonrhyming stanzas as enlightening as they are poetic: the “smoke and cinders, / ash and sweat” of the coal engine and the Great Plains stretching out “empty as an ocean.” Blasting through these artful compositions are the bellows of the conductor (“FULL STEAM AHEAD”) and the scream of the train whistle, so loud that it bleeds off the page: “WHOOOOOOO!” Font styles swap restlessly to best embody each noise (see the blunt, bold “SPIT” versus the ornate, ballooning “HUFF HUFF HUFF”).
Reviews
"I loved the cadence of this book... it was just the right rhythm to correspond to the rolling rumbling train. The imagery was so wonderful and you really felt like you were there on the long trip. The fact that this book held the attention of my kids despite its length says it all. I do plan to purchase this book... but I wanted to throw my review in the pot immediately!"
"I bought this book for my two year old."
"Yes, some information is beyond his age but he retains and learns it anyway."
"This books exudes quality. To describe the book itself."
"I bought this book for my 3 year old not really knowing the story but knowing that it's an award winning book with great reviews."
"My six-year-old and I had also just read the true and rather brutal story of a pioneer girl who took a wagon train across the country, which made the contrast in travel particularly vivid."
"When he plays with his train set now, he incorporates vocabulary as well as actions that the book uses. Our babysitter thought he was saying words from a song since the passages are so rhythmic."
"It will elicit questions from children about families of the past too."
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Best Children's Pirate Books

Time Capsule: A seriously awesome kid's journal
For the child who's curious to discover how mighty his own story can be. Invite your child to explore his creativity and discover how mighty the pen can be by diving deep into what sparks his interest. Katie Clemons is a storycatcher and award-winning journal crafter.
Reviews
"My son of 9 has this journal and we are both having lots of fun with it!"
"The pages have great text font and a variety of different designs. When the kid finishes the journal, he/she draws a map on the last page and actually hides the book! The quality of the book - the cover is matte, but feels very smooth."
"I got this for my 8 year old son as part of his writing practice in our homeschool."
"This is a really thoughtful journal full of activities and writing prompts designed just for your kiddo! It has a good mix of questions, identifying info for your child, spots for pictures, etc."
"The author clearly has a great creative mind and is passionate about helping kids record their stories. I hope that my daughter can enjoy using one of these in a few years, to spark her creative, wild, and adventurous - and dare I say tomboy?"
"This journal is so thoughtfully constructed and designed to help kiddos become self-reflecting, by guiding them through the process of recording their thoughts and the events they've experienced."
"The Time Capsule journal is a great way to preserve the precious and silly thoughts of childhood, and to give kids a chance to examine who they are and who they hope to become."
"Before my daughter (9) began this journal she was never excited to begin our school day, but now she looks forward to it each day."
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Best Children's Royalty Books

Princesses Wear Pants
In the tradition of Not All Princesses Dress in Pink and Princess in Black , Princesses Wear Pants follows the unflappable Princess Penelope Pineapple, who knows how to get the job done while staying true to herself. Unfortunately for Princess Penelope, not everyone in the Pineapple Kingdom thinks pants are always appropriate princess attire. Savannah Guthrie is the cohost of TODAY on NBC as well as an attorney and legal analyst.
Reviews
"Good story and a reminder not to judge too quickly."
"Trying to get our four year old to recognize that a princess isn’t about what she wears."
"The authors, Savannah Guthrie and Allison Oppenheim, have written a fun book for children with good lessons learned. Princess Penelope Pineapple lived with her brother Prince Philippe, their royal cat, Miss Fussywiggles, in a lovely castle. Adults will enjoy reading this book to their children.The children will be able to identify with Princess Penelope in her understanding of why and when it is necessary to wear pants."
"My 3 year old granddaughter loves this book."
"I really wanted to love this book, but I found the rhymes to be forced and the moral is also a bit of a stretch."
"Cute book & gave to my granddaughter for Christmas."
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Best Children's Travel Books

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
Greg Heffley and his family hit the road in author-illustrator Jeff Kinney's latest installment of the phenomenal bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Will the Heffley family make it home?
Reviews
"I checked my email and there was a purchase of this book that I didn't make. If anyone knows how to take off the one click purchase option on kindle PLEASE let me know."
"The ninth installment of the hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, The Long Haul features Greg and the rest of the Heffley family embarking on a road trip at the start of summer vacation. The Long Haul and the rest of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series fall under the genre of realistic fiction graphic novel, with both the writing and illustrations by Jeff Kinney. Though I would suggest this book for children in grades 4-7, it is funny enough and for parents or older siblings to enjoy as they read along. Because the drawings are just stick figures outlined in black, it is hard to tell whether multiple cultures and races are being represented."
"We loved this as a family."
"Whole series is great."
"My grandson finished this series in third grade and was disappointed when he had read them all and there wasn't something to look forward to."
"Great series-Introduced it to my teens years ago and passed them down to my 8 year old."
"fun story."
"My son love's these books."
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Best Children's Archaeology Books

The Egyptology Handbook: A Course in the Wonders of Egypt (Ologies)
But in a remarkable turn of fortune for Miss Sands's many fans, detectives have uncovered a second volume penned in her own hand — a course book on ancient Egyptian history and culture intended for the voyager's beloved niece and nephew. Dugald Steer has written many books for children including the best-selling DRAGONOLOGY and its companion, THE DRAGONOLOGY HANDBOOK, as well as the forthcoming WIZARDOLOGY. He has illustrated many books for children including the Smarties book Prize-winning FIREWORK MAKER'S DAUGHTER by Phillip Pullman. Helen has also written a number of successful children's books including THE TIN FOREST and THE DRAGON MACHINE, both illustrated by Wayne Anderson.
Reviews
"My kids got a lot of use out of this, and I learned a couple things myself."
"fabulous book with attention paid to detail!"
"Perfect companion to the Egyptology series."
"Exactly what any budding Egyptologist needs!"
"I love these 'ology' books!"
"The "ology" books are so fun."
"What greater way is there to get someone interested in Egypt's history than this?"
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Best Children's Where We Live Books

The Christmas Wish
This New York Times bestselling Nordic tale in the tradition of The Snowman, The Polar Express, and the many books of Jan Brett will have readers of all ages believing in the magic of Christmas. The full-page photographs look like they could be movie stills, so sharp and seamless are the figures that Anja and the animals cut against the winter landscape of Northern lights, glaciers, and snowy pine trees.
Reviews
"Great book!"
"I have most all of Lori evert books and they are such a great story and the most beautiful pictures."
"Beautiful story."
"Beautiful story, great gift for adults and children alike."
"Sweet story, awesome photos."
"Such a Beautiful book!"
"Beautiful book to keep for years to come."
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Best Children's Social Science Books

Maps
This book of maps is a visual feast for readers of all ages, with lavishly drawn illustrations from the incomparable Mizielinskis.
Reviews
"Ireland and Israel aren't in this book, but neither are Norway, Portugal, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Turkey and several other European countries, along with every central American country, all nations in the Caribbean, the Philippines, South and North Korea, Indonesia, most of Africa and many others I'm not going to list. It's funny to me that the absence of both Ireland and Israel were highlighted in the reviews, since both countries have an entire book devoted to them by Sasek."
"Purchased for the younger ones, and the teens couldn't put it down."
"Love this book, it’s like an educational where’s Waldo in that you can spend hours looking at all the picture details."
"European pages are packed with famous and semi-famous Europeans; African pages are packed with exotic animals."
"This was a gift for our grandson and He was thrilled with it!"
"i think i've bought six of these books, five as gifts: this is a beautifully designed, wonderfully executed atlas which is perfect for a bright and motivated child but perfect for not-so-bright or motivated adults who just love maps and atlases."
"It is, indeed, Maps."
"I do understand that not all countries can be shown on this book but at least one or two countries representing Central America, the Caribbean and the Middle East."
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Best Children's Explore the World Books

5,000 Awesome Facts (About Everything!) (National Geographic Kids)
Lively and information-packed, this book is literally busting its covers with fascinating, fun-tastic facts on super, sensational topics that kids love. "Filled with photographs, this beautifully designed book is organized into two-page spreads that each focus on a different topic, making it easy and fun to read."
Reviews
"One of our favorite things about this book is how it has inspired questions and discussions between our children and my wife and I about various subjects."
"I gave this book to him for Christmas so we could both bone up on awesome facts--in fact, we read it often at bedtime, startling each other with one amazing piece of information after the other."
"I got this for my 10 year old son in hopes it would spark more reading and less electronics."
"Great Book!"
"He even tells me things that he has learned from reading this book."
"Bought this for a ten-year old for Christmas."
"I was surprised how big this book was."
"This is a well done book for any inquisitive young person."
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Best Children's Multicultural Story Books

Ordinary People Change the World Gift Set (Ordinary People Change World)
Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos answer that question, one great role model at a time. And now you can buy the first four—Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, and Albert Einstein—together in a wonderfully designed slipcase that includes an exclusive, autographed print, suitable for framing. Christopher Eliopoulos began his illustration career as a letterer for Marvel, and has worked on thousands of comics, including Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius, Pet Avengers, and Cow Boy, all of which he wrote and illustrated.
Reviews
"These books also have important character building lessons and are overall great books for kids."
"My 3, almost 4 year old, also loves them!"
"She likes how they are fun to read and talk about when they were kids too."
"I love history myself and will purchased this series for my grandchildren."
"A must for any child in your family, even my 13 year old loves them."
"Came in excellent condition."
"Love these books, my 5 year old listens intently and they prompt her to ask lots of good questions."
"These are my favorite books for children."
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