Published by Farrar Straus Giroux 

Summary:  A boy explains how his home is his school, too.  His three sisters are his classmates, his mom is his teacher, and his dad is the substitute who takes over at the end of the day. They have many classrooms, including all the rooms in their house, the telescope on the back deck, and the public library.  Recess and gym are spent in the backyard, hanging out in the tree house and playing soccer with friends.  Sometimes there are field trips to do art or explore nature.  There are opportunities for learning all day long, right up to the final bedtime story.  Endpapers show the real Jonathan and his three sisters during their own homeschooling days.  Ages 4-8.

Pros:  Homeschooling is presented in a positive light, with a loving family supporting each other in all their educational endeavors.  The illustrations are appropriately childlike and busy, showing the chaos of four curious, active children pursuing learning.

Cons:  It looks pretty exhausting.

Published by Groundwood Books 

Summary: A little girl and her father are making the difficult journey from Central America or Mexico to the United States. They travel first by small boat, then on the top of a freight train.  They’re delayed by soldiers, and have to run away.  Sometimes the father has to stop and work to earn more money.  The story is told by the girl, who doesn’t know where they’re going.  She passes the time counting birds, clouds, and soldiers.  She plays with a boy when her father has to work.  She wonders where they are going and how long it will take to get there.  Grades K-3.

Pros:  A fascinating and eye-opening story for children living north of the border.  The text, in the little girl’s voice, doesn’t explain many of the things going on in the illustrations, like the father grabbing his daughter and fleeing from soldiers.  There are few details given about their homeland, making the story more universal.

Cons:  It’s hard to understand what’s going on just from reading the text.  Young readers will need an adult to give the story some context.

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers

Summary: Saya’s mother, an immigrant from Haiti, is in jail for not having the right papers. Saya and her father visit Mama every week, but it’s not the same as having her at home.  Saya’s father writes letters every evening, contacting politicians and reporters to try to get help.  One evening, Saya decides to write her own story.  Her father sends it to a newspaper, and a few days later, a reporter comes to interview them.  As a result of the story in the paper, Saya’s mother gets to see a judge who allows her to go home while she waits for her papers to come through.  In the author’s note, Edwidge Danticat tells the story of how she and her parents were separated by immigration until she was twelve years old.  Grades K-3.

Pros: Kids will be fascinated by Saya’s story and inspired by the way she helps her mom. The illustrations are beautiful, with bold colors and symbols from Mama’s stories woven into the pictures of the family.

Cons:  Expect a lot of questions about what is going on with this family from readers unfamiliar with immigration laws.

Published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers 

Summary: Antonio lives in the hotel his mother runs in 1914 Canada. He loves helping the different workers there and exploring the rooms on the second and third floors. One day, when Antonio is almost five, a man on the third floor spots smoke in the woods. Before long, the hotel is surrounded by fire, and all the inhabitants have to wade into the lake. As the fire closes in, wolves, moose, porcupine, bears, and other forest inhabitants join the humans in the lake. People and animals stand together until the fire passes by. The animals return to the forest, and the people go back to the hotel, which miraculously survived the blaze. An author’s note shows a picture of the real Antonio, the author’s grandfather, and tells how the story of the forest fire was passed down in her family. Grades 1-4.

Pros: A good mentor text for memoir writing. Kids will be fascinated by the forest fire and the gathering of all the animals. The beautiful illustrations look like old-time photographs.

Cons: The old-fashioned cover is not particularly eye-catching. Kids might have to be led to this book.