Why am I passionate about this?

The topic of immigration is deeply in my heart because I am an immigrant myself. I came from El Salvador to the United States when I was 14 years old. Now, I am a teacher in an elementary school. Most of my students are immigrants or children of immigrants. Children and families immigrate around the world looking for better opportunities. These books were written by immigrant authors or authors who had lived closely with immigrants. The stories are real and describe the authentic journey, and experiences of children and families traveling from their native countries to the United States.


I wrote

Mamá the Alien / Mamá La Extraterrestre

By Rene Colato Lainez, Laura Lacámara (illustrator),

Book cover of Mamá the Alien / Mamá La Extraterrestre

What is my book about?

When Mamá’s purse falls on the floor, Sofia gets a peek at Mamá’s old Resident Alien card and comes to…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Dreamers

Rene Colato Lainez Why did I love this book?

I like this book because it describes the journey of a mother and small child into a new country. Dreamers is a celebration of making your home with the things you always carry: your resilience, your dreams, your hopes, and history. It's the story of finding your way in a new place, of navigating an unfamiliar world and finding the best parts of it. In dark times, it's a promise that you can make better tomorrows.   

By Yuyi Morales,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Dreamers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

We are resilience. We are hope. We are dreamers.
 
Yuyi Morales brought her hopes, her passion, her strength, and her stories with her, when she came to the United States in 1994 with her infant son. She left behind nearly everything she owned, but she didn't come empty-handed.

Dreamers is a celebration of making your home with the things you always carry: your resilience, your dreams, your hopes and history. It's the story of finding your way in a new place, of navigating an unfamiliar world and finding the best parts of it. In dark times, it's a promise that…


Book cover of Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale

Rene Colato Lainez Why did I love this book?

I like this book because is written as a fairy tale, but the story describes the real journey at the Mexican/ US border. A young rabbit named Pancho eagerly awaits his papa’s return. Papa Rabbit left two years ago to travel far away north to find work in the great carrot and lettuce fields to earn money for his family. When Papa does not return home on the designated day, Pancho sets out to find him and heads north.

By Duncan Tonatiuh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, 8, and 9.

What is this book about?

In this allegorical picture book, a young rabbit named Pancho eagerly awaits his papa's return. Papa Rabbit traveled north two years ago to find work in the great carrot and lettuce fields to earn money for his family. When Papa does not return, Pancho sets out to find him. He packs Papa's favorite meal-mole, rice and beans, a heap of warm tortillas, and a jug of aguamiel-and heads north. He meets a coyote, who offers to help Pancho in exchange for some of Papa's food. They travel together until the food is gone and the coyote decides he is still…


Book cover of Somos Como Las Nubes / We Are Like the Clouds

Rene Colato Lainez Why did I love this book?

This is a powerful book; in beautiful poems the author, Jorge Argueta, describes the journey of children and their families who are looking for better opportunities and big dreams in a new place.

Why are young people leaving their country to walk to the United States to seek a new, safe home? Over 100,000 such children have left Central America. This book of poetry helps us to understand why and what it is like to be them.

By Jorge Argueta, Alfonso Ruano (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Somos Como Las Nubes / We Are Like the Clouds as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why are young people leaving their country to walk to the United States to seek a new, safe home? Over 100,000 such children have left Central America. This book of poetry helps us to understand why and what it is like to be them.

This powerful book by award-winning Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta describes the terrible process that leads young people to undertake the extreme hardships and risks involved in the journey to what they hope will be a new life of safety and opportunity. A refugee from El Salvador's war in the eighties, Argueta was born to explain the…


Book cover of My Diary From Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla

Rene Colato Lainez Why did I love this book?

Journals are important to write our feelings, hopes, and dreams. In this wonderful book, Amada uses her journal to write about her journey from Mexico to Los Angeles. Amada records her fears, hopes, and dreams for their new life in her diary. What if she can’t learn English? How can she leave her best friend? Along the way, Amada learns that with her family's love and her belief in herself, she can weather any change.

By Amada Irma Perez, Maya Christina Gonzalez (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked My Diary From Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One night, Amada overhears her parents whisper about moving from Mexico to Los Angeles, where greater opportunity awaits. As she and her family make the journey north, Amada records her fears, hopes, and dreams for their new life in her diary. What if she can’t learn English? How can she leave her best friend? Along the way, Amada learns that with her family's love and her belief in herself, she can weather any change. With humor and insight, Pérez recounts the story of her family’s immigration to America. Maya Christina Gonzalez' vibrant artwork captures every detail of their journey.


Book cover of Just Like Home: Como en Mi Tierra

Rene Colato Lainez Why did I love this book?

I like this book because the protagonist compares her food, traditions, and weather of her native country and her new country. In both English and Spanish, a young girl shares the story of how she and her family arrived in the United States. She describes her experiences as being "just like home" or "not like home".

By Elizabeth I. Miller, Mira Reisberg (illustrator), Teresa Mlawer (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Just Like Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In both English and Spanish, a young girl shares the story of how she and her family arrived in the United States. She describes her experiences as being "just like home" or "not like home."


Explore my book 😀

Mamá the Alien / Mamá La Extraterrestre

By Rene Colato Lainez, Laura Lacámara (illustrator),

Book cover of Mamá the Alien / Mamá La Extraterrestre

What is my book about?

When Mamá’s purse falls on the floor, Sofia gets a peek at Mamá’s old Resident Alien card and comes to the conclusion that Mamá might be an alien from outer space. Sofia heads to the library to learn more about aliens. Some are small and some are tall. Some have four fingers on each hand and some have large, round eyes. Their skin can be gray or blue or green. But Mamá looks like a human mother! Could she really be an alien? Filled with imagination and humor, this title is a sweet and timely celebration of family, no matter where that family comes from. Even if it’s outer space!

Book cover of Dreamers
Book cover of Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale
Book cover of Somos Como Las Nubes / We Are Like the Clouds

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You might also like...

No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

Book cover of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

Rona Simmons Author Of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I come by my interest in history and the years before, during, and after the Second World War honestly. For one thing, both my father and my father-in-law served as pilots in the war, my father a P-38 pilot in North Africa and my father-in-law a B-17 bomber pilot in England. Their histories connect me with a period I think we can still almost reach with our fingertips and one that has had a momentous impact on our lives today. I have taken that interest and passion to discover and write true life stories of the war—focusing on the untold and unheard stories often of the “Average Joe.”

Rona's book list on World War II featuring the average Joe

What is my book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on any other single day of the war.

The narrative of No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident while focusing its attention on ordinary individuals—clerks, radio operators, cooks, sailors, machinist mates, riflemen, and pilots and their air crews. All were men who chose to serve their country and soon found themselves in a terrifying and otherworldly place.

No Average Day reveals the vastness of the war as it reaches past the beaches in…

No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

What is this book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, or on June 6, 1944, when the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, or on any other single day of the war. In its telling of the events of October 24, No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident. The book begins with Army Private First-Class Paul Miller's pre-dawn demise in the Sendai #6B Japanese prisoner of war camp. It concludes with the death…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in immigrants, migrant workers, and Central America?

Immigrants 180 books
Migrant Workers 14 books
Central America 33 books