Immigration, Refugees & Displacement Injustice Books
These books explore the experiences of immigrants and refugees who have faced persecution, displacement, discrimination, separation from loved ones, and the loss of home and security. Through fiction and nonfiction, these stories give voice to those who have endured hardship, sought safety and opportunity, and fought for dignity, belonging, and a place to call home.
Elementary
Dreamers
By Yuyi Morales
Dreamers is a beautifully illustrated memoir about Yuyi Morales and her young son, who leave Mexico and come to the United States in search of a better life. Unable to speak English and unfamiliar with their new surroundings, they find comfort, confidence, and belonging through books and their local library. The story celebrates immigration, resilience, family, language, and the transformative power of finding a place where you belong.
Recommended for grades 1-3
Why It Bears Witness: Dreamers bears witness to the immigrant experience, including the uncertainty, isolation, language barriers, and challenges that can come with starting over in a new country. Through Morales's personal story, the book celebrates the resilience of immigrant families and shows how libraries, books, and education can provide a sense of belonging and hope.
The Journey
By Francesca Sanna
The Journey follows a young girl and her mother as they are forced to leave their home because of war. They travel through unfamiliar places, facing fear, uncertainty, and difficult obstacles as they search for a safe place to live. Through the child's eyes, the story offers a moving look at what it means to become a refugee and leave behind everything you know.
Recommended for grades 1-3
Why It Bears Witness: The Journey bears witness to the experiences of refugees forced to flee their homes because of war and violence. By telling the story through a child's eyes, the book helps young readers understand the fear, loss, uncertainty, and courage involved in leaving home while searching for safety.
Middle School
When Stars Are Scattered
By Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
When Stars Are Scattered follows Omar, a young Somali refugee living in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya with his younger brother, Hassan. Omar dreams of going to school, but he must balance his education with caring for Hassan and navigating the challenges of life in a refugee camp. Based on Omar Mohamed’s childhood experiences, the graphic novel is a moving story about family, displacement, education, hope, and resilience.
Recommended for grades 6-8
Why It Bears Witness: When Stars Are Scattered bears witness to the experiences of refugees and the realities of displacement, including limited access to education, food, safety, and opportunities. Through Omar's personal story, readers gain a deeper understanding of what it means to grow up in a refugee camp while also seeing the extraordinary strength, love, and hope that can exist in the midst of hardship.
Young Adult
We Are Not From Here
By Jenny Torres Sanchez
We Are Not from Here follows three teenagers—Pequeña, Chico, and Pulga—who leave their homes in Guatemala and begin the dangerous journey north toward the United States. Each carries their own painful history and hopes for a safer, better life as they travel through Mexico facing violence, poverty, and uncertainty. Their story highlights the human cost of migration and the courage it takes to leave everything familiar behind.
Recommended for grades 9-12
Why It Bears Witness: We Are Not from Here bears witness to the dangerous realities faced by migrants and refugees, including poverty, violence, exploitation, and the uncertainty of seeking safety in another country. By telling the journey through the perspectives of three young people, the novel humanizes immigration and reminds readers that behind debates about borders and migration are individuals with families, fears, dreams, and hopes for a better future.
American Street
By Ibi Zoboi
American Street follows Fabiola Toussaint, a Haitian teenager who moves to Detroit with her mother to begin a new life in America. When her mother is detained by immigration officials, Fabiola must navigate her new school, neighborhood, friendships, and the challenges of being separated from her family. As she adjusts to her new surroundings, she draws on her Haitian heritage, her faith, and the strength of the people around her.
Recommended for grades 9-12
Why It Bears Witness: American Street bears witness to the immigrant experience, family separation, poverty, and the challenges faced by people navigating life between cultures. Through Fabiola's story, readers see how immigration policies can have deeply personal consequences while also celebrating the strength of immigrant families and the importance of cultural identity.
Adult
Solito
By Javier Zamora
Solito is Javier Zamora’s memoir about his childhood journey from El Salvador to the United States at just nine years old. Traveling alone with strangers, Javier faces a dangerous journey through Guatemala and Mexico as he tries to reunite with his parents in Arizona. The memoir captures the fear, confusion, loneliness, and resilience of a child navigating migration while separated from his family.
Recommended for Young Adults & Adults
Why It Bears Witness: Solito bears witness to the real human experience behind immigration and migration, particularly the dangers and emotional trauma faced by children traveling without their parents. Through Zamora’s childhood perspective, readers experience the fear, uncertainty, loneliness, and hope of a young immigrant searching for safety and family.
Exit West
By Mohsin Hamid
Exit West follows Nadia and Saeed, two young people who fall in love as their unnamed country is consumed by war and violence. When mysterious doors begin appearing that can transport people to distant parts of the world, they use one to escape and begin a dangerous journey as refugees. As they move from place to place, they must navigate displacement, cultural change, belonging, and the ways migration transforms both individuals and relationships.
Recommended for grades 11-12 & Adults
Why It Bears Witness: Exit West bears witness to the experiences of refugees and displaced people, exploring the fear, uncertainty, loss, and hope that accompany leaving one's home behind. By making migration both fantastical and deeply human, Hamid encourages readers to look beyond political debates and recognize refugees as individuals seeking safety, dignity, and a place to belong.