Dreamers
By: Yuyi Morales
This is a touching story about the author migrating from Mexico to the United States with her two-month-old son. She came so her son could meet his great-grandfather and she could marry her son's father. Upon marriage, she learned that she was now a permanent resident and could not return to Mexico as she had planned.
She describes how cold the United States was as she longed for the things she was used to and found comfort in family, foods, friends, jobs, and forms of communication. She is eventually introduced to a library where she can read and learn English, finding her own voice, without persecution from those around her.
When reading the book, I had to look up words that were not familiar to me: "Adios Corazon", caminantes, lucha, and sonadores.
When analyzing the book from a critical stance, there are some great teaching points: immigration, humanity, home, comfort, dreamers, and hope. You could ask students to reflect on how they were feeling while reading or how they thought the author was feeling.
The illustrations are gorgeous and powerful. As she enters the United States, you can see how dull and cold the world looks as she wears her bright colors full of hope. The words in the clouds and smoke are written backward and in English, which signifies the way they were welcomed into this new world. It was in a language they could not understand instead of being offered gifts or food and other forms of welcoming.
Resources:
Morales, Y. (2018). Dreamers. Neal Porter Books.
A Crack in the Sea
By: H. M. Bouman
My first thoughts of the book were not great. I was dreading the size of the book and the fact the book was a fantasy. But, the book was a powerful read. I would read it with upper elementary, maybe 5th grade and up.
The storyline is sort of complex as it switches back and forth between the worlds and it having so many characters involved in different ways. And the historical fiction background knowledge is more advanced as you analyze the Vietnam War, slavery, refugees, forced migration, and cruelty.
The book is both fantasy and historical fiction.
Before reading with any class, they are going to need some background knowledge on the Vietnam war, slavery, and refugees.
Each of the characters (Kinchen and Pip, Venus and Summer, Thanh and Sang) has their own story and struggles through sacrifice, siblings, determination, bravery, and forms of slavery and migration.
This is a challenging book to navigate through and follow so I would encourage students to either make notes or use organizers to assist them. It may help for the students to make a list of characters or write a setting for the characters.
Teaching Resource:
About the Author:
Bouwman, H. M. (2017). A crack in the sea. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.