Sandhya Menon has it covered with the first volume in her YA romance series Of Curses and Kisses (St Rosetta’s Academy Book 1). Set in an exclusive boarding school nestled in the hills of Colorado with gorgeous snow-capped mountains, a girl from India and boy from England meet. Is it destiny?

Princess Jaya Rao and her younger sister Isha are packed off to boarding school, hoping to escape a scandalous rumor that a rival family has circulated about Isha. Jaya hopes to protect the Rao dynasty reputation from further damage and extract revenge on the family that is responsible for publishing the vicious gossip. She finds the perfect opportunity. Lord Grey Emerson, a member of the family that has inflicted centuries of anguish on the Raos is a student at St. Rosetta’s. Her plan: she will make him fall in love with her and then break his heart.

It's Kate's birthday and rich Uncle Herman, who wears a banana yellow suit and is a bit unorthodox, presents her with a most unusual gift: a train. Not a toy. This is a mammoth-sized steam-belching machine on a track in her backyard. When Kate and her younger brother Tom climb aboard, they begin an adventure that is beyond their wildest imaginings.

The Silver Arrow is a dream come true. Tom and a Kate create their ideal train with such delightful cars as a library car, a swimming pool car, and even a candy car. But the children soon learn that this will not be a pleasure excursion. They are tasked with transporting endangered species to less hostile environments. Kate is the conductor. She is charged with protecting and finding proper homes for animals such as a white bellied heron and a fishing cat.  Yes, they really exist. I looked them up.

Like Scheherazade, ​Nayeri weaves a thousand and one tales into an opulent Persian tapestry: a story of mythology and memoir, of lineage and loss. A story that is as true as what you see with your own eyes and as real as what you cannot see.
The saga begins as a ten-year-old Iranian refugee stands up in an Oklahoma schoolroom and tells classmates his story, his history.
There are so many things going on in this narrative. Several pages are devoted to considerations of poop. It should not be surprising. This is not some esoteric philosophical treatise, although there are ample references to God and religion, anxiety and resilience, dignity and prejudice. At its core, it is a story of basic human needs. It's a story of survival. Nayeri lays bare his heart, his devotion to his mother, his complicated relationship with his father. It’s a guidebook for navigating a strange western culture and for methodically escaping the cruelty of others. It’s all of it. 

A middle grade tale that is funny, heartwarming and painfully honest. Daughter of immigrant parents, eleven-year-old Yumi Chung constantly feels parental pressure to excel academically.
Mom has decided that Yumi will spend her summer with tutoring sessions in preparation for the SSAT, Secondary School Admission Test. ​​​Yumi grudgingly heads off for morning test prep sessions combined with three hours of afternoon study at the library.
Then something amazing happens.
​She discovers a comedy club adjacent to the library.  YouTube sensation Jasmine Jasper is facilitating a comedy camp. Yumi succumbs to temptation and steps inside. She is mistaken for a camp registrant who failed to show. Here’s Yumi’s chance to shine. Performing using another identity frees her from stage fright. She is a success!

Late 1930's were perilous times in Europe. The Nazi party was ascending to power and invading surrounding nations.
Twelve-year-old Esther’s family are Polish Jews. They face a future filled with uncertainty and fear. Bravely Esther leaves her mother, siblings, and grandmother to join her father in Cuba. The plan: father and daughter will secure funds for the entire family to escape the dire conditions in their homeland and emigrate to Cuba.
Through a series of letters to her sister, Esther describes her life in this new country. Her correspondence is infused with sensory descriptions: luscious tropical fruit, beautiful countryside, eloquent Spanish language, and the poetry of José Matí. ​She tells of heartbreaking setbacks and small triumphs.
​Initially, the two earn money peddling religious statues in the predominantly Catholic villages. It seems an unusual thing: Jews selling religious statues. Sadly, this venture produces little income.

Siblings Sara and Emiliano Zapata are on the run, hoping to elude an international human trafficking cartel. Illegal continues their story which began with Disappeared. After leaving Juárez, Mexico, the two separately cross the Rio Grande River, hoping to outpace and outsmart the syndicate.
The story is told in the alternating voices of the brother and sister. Sara opts to legally request asylum as she believes that ample documentation will support her amnesty claim. Emiliano chooses to go underground, hiding in the back of a horse trailer to evade detection and eventually living in the basement of his father’s home in a Chicago suburb.
​​The two share an dangerous secret: a cell phone containing damning photographs and documents detailing human trafficking that originates in Mexico and extends into the United States. Sara entrusts the phone to her brother. Sara and Emiliano must protect this valuable piece of evidence without endangering one another.

Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed's When Stars Are Scattered introduces readers to the reality of survival for displaced individuals, an existence filled with deprivation, uncertainty, and boredom.
Jamieson chronicles the childhood of Somali refugees Omar Mohamed and his younger brother Hassan.
​The narrative is based on Omar’s memories. He and Hassan escaped Somalia's civil war, lost contact with their parents, and were given shelter at a camp located in Kenya. Looked after by a kind woman, they subsist on meager rations and sleep in a tiny tent. Omar assumes responsibility for disabled brother's daily care. Life changes when a UN worker suggests that Omar attend a school organized for the camp's children. Education becomes his lifeline and an escape from the grim reality of camp life. Fifteen long years later, the two resettle in Arizona.

A comic book set in 1946 with 2020 sensibilities features the traditional superhero trope: Man of Steel versus an archenemy. Metropolis is plagued with a sinister influence. It’s up to the caped crusader with an assist from a couple of kids to defeat evil and protect the city’s citizens.
​Inspired by the 1940s Superman radio series “Clan of the Fiery Cross,” Gene Luen Yang chronicles a lesser-known aspect of bigotry and racism in American history: Chinese Americans targeted by white supremacists.
​​​The narrative has two plot threads. Alternating stories chronicle a Chinese American family's move from Chinatown to a new neighborhood. This is juxtaposed with the tale of a superhero arriving to earth from another planet. ​Both threads explore the plight of individuals who are perceived as different. ​Both are stories of immigrants. Stories of aliens.

Addition books featuring immigrants. The titles include a variety of immigrant experiences.
Some stories are memoirs, others offer fictionalized narratives. The assortment includes various formats: picture book, poetry, prose, and graphic novel. There are titles for elementary school, middle grade, and young adult audiences.
Sample several different titles for a deeper understanding of the immigrant story.

Omar Mohamed's initiative helps students in an African refugee camp succeed in school  Refugee Strong.

Inspiring stories from the people who have welcomed refugees. International Rescue Committee offers specific suggestions to support refugees.

A handsome volume of intertwined poetry, prose, and direct quotations honors Black History Month by using the February calendar format with twenty eight entries. Subjects include individuals, federal laws, and milestone events that have positively influenced United States’ Black history. A nod to Leap Year adds a twenty ninth entry that encourages readers to create their own significant moments in history.

A sample of Shane W. Evans' stunning art.

View the author, Charles R. Smith reading his book.

Drew loves to draw. Pencil in hand, she has created her own collection of doodles, an assortment of charming and often mischievous characters who dwell in her imaginary world.
Drew shares her passion for drawing with other students in the school’s Art Club. Their advisor plans a field trip to the local art museum. This expedition will serve as inspiration for an upcoming project: create a superhero world.

There is one complication. Drew has discovered that her doodles can escape the pages of her sketchbook and travel into the “real world.” At the museum, her creations Jump off the paper and wildly explore the art displays, absconding with a hat featured in one of the paintings.

Although Drew manages to collect all her runaway doodles plus an additional purloined hat, it is apparent that her creations are out of control. They begin to inhabit the drawings of her fellow students, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Drew’s father helps her understand that her creations are a part of her and that the Leviathan is an extension of the darkness that she sometimes feels. Once she acknowledges the duality of emotions she possesses, Drew is empowered to formulate a plan of action that benefits her fellow artists, the doodles, and even Levi. This leads to an inventive and satisfying conclusion.

Sell’s art cleverly delineates the black and white one-dimensional world of Doodleville and Drew’s fully realized colorful world. The blending of the two worlds is masterful.

It begins with dragonflies. Dragonflies flitting everywhere in a sultry Louisiana town.
Kingston James, known as King, has become fixated with dragonflies. There’s a reason for his obsession. After his older brother Khalid suddenly and tragically dies, King is convinced that his brother has morphed into a dragonfly. Whenever he sees one of these large-eyed iridescent insects he feels that Khalid is nearby.

Callender tells a compelling story of grief and the oppressive burden that death places on a family. The loss of his brother has cast a pall over King’s home. Familiar family routines have been set aside. There is now an empty place at the table. The family dynamic is fractured.

One of the few constants for King is Sandy Sanders. Sandy is the friend he can confide in, can talk with about things that really matter. The two friends share a love for anime and manga, spending spend hours sketching characters and discussing their favorite stories.
To please his brother, King has severed this treasured friendship because Sandy is gay. Khalid convinced King that he should not associate with gays.

Siblings Sara and Emiliano Zapata are on the run, hoping to elude an international human trafficking cartel. Illegal continues their story which began with Disappeared. After leaving Juárez Mexico, the two separately cross the Rio Grande River, hoping to outpace and outsmart the syndicate.

The story is told in the alternating voices of the brother and sister. Sara opts to legally request asylum as she believes that ample documentation will support her amnesty claim. Emiliano chooses to go underground, hiding in the back of a horse trailer to evade detection and eventually living in the basement of his father’s home in a Chicago suburb.

An electrifying story that could easily have been ripped from today's headlines, this can't-put-down story of danger, intrigue, and corruption will keep readers rapidly turning pages. It's action and suspense to the max.
​While the book’s conclusion brings resolution to the immediate dangers facing Sara and Emiliano, there is obviously more to the story. Please Mr. Stork, don’t keep us waiting too long.

Through a series of letters to her sister, Esther describes her life in this new country. Her correspondence is infused with sensory descriptions: luscious tropical fruit, beautiful countryside, eloquent Spanish language, and the poetry of José Matí. ​She tells of heartbreaking setbacks and small triumphs.

Danbi’s off for her first day of Kindergarten. A momentous occasion. For this little charmer, the day is even more significant. It's her first day of school in America.
New day. New school. New country.

For a girl from Korea, everything is strange and puzzling. A blonde teacher with very pale skin, and a cluster of children, many who do not look like her, stare in wonder at the newcomer. Things are off to a difficult start.

Everything is foreign. New language. Baffling writing system. Dancing is strange. Games don't follow any rules that she knows.  Saddest of all, she is without a friend.

​Like Scheherazade, Nayeri has a gift. He weaves a thousand and one tales into an opulent Persian tapestry: a story of mythology and memoir, of lineage and loss. A story that is as true as what you see with your own eyes and as real as what you cannot see.

The saga begins: a ten-year-old Iranian refugee stands up in an Oklahoma schoolroom and tells classmates his story, his history.

There are so many things going on in this narrative. Several pages are devoted to considerations of poop. It should not be surprising. This is not some esoteric philosophical treatise, although there are ample references to God and religion, anxiety and resilience, dignity and prejudice. At its core, it is a story of basic human needs. It's a story of survival. Nayeri lays bare his heart, his devotion to his mother, his complicated relationship with his father. It’s a guidebook for navigating a strange western culture and for methodically escaping the cruelty of others. It’s all of it.