This verse novel explores the author’s childhood in South Carolina and New York in the 1960s and 1970s: Growing up as an African American woman both with the aftermath of Jim Crow laws and the beginning Civil Rights movement. Her poems feature topics of racism, religion, spiritualism, family, history and the power of memory, storytelling, […]
A movie drama about health, sports and honesty. Dr. Omalu came to the USA from Nigeria in order to work as a forensic pathologist. When several former NFL-players commit suicide, Dr. Omalu suspects that repeated concussions suffered during football games are to blame. As was to be expected, the NFL will do everything in its […]
This historical drama film is based on the 1982 novel by Thomas Keneally and based on true events. It tells the story of businessman Oskar Schindler, who worked to save more than a thousand Jews from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. This film is suited for interdisciplinary teaching […]
This movie drama tackles prejudice and violence in the modern day USA: Protagonist Walt is an old man, a veteran of the US-Korean War, recently widowed. One day Thao, a young Hmong American, is pressured into stealing Walt’s car but when the attempt fails, the grumpy old man and the boy cannot help but grow […]
A verse novel about the search for one’s own story, this one introduces the reader to 12-year-old Kasienka. Looking for her father, she and her mother migrated from Poland to England. Life, however, poses many challenges for Kasienka: bullying in school, living in a run down flat and having to share a bed with her […]
In this realist novel about poverty, exploitation, human trafficking and ‘modern’ slavery, 13-year-old Lakshmi lives a poor but happy life with her family in rural Nepal. When a monsoon washes away her family’s remaining crops, she is forced to take on a job. When she is tricked into moving to the city, instead of prosperity […]
In this epistolary novel about family, migration and loss, a 12-year-old Jewish girl named Rifka documents her family’s escape from Russia in 1919 and their journey to the USA: how Rifka distracted guards by telling them stories, how she fell sick and needed to be treated in Belgium before they could go on and how […]
An easy read navigating the diffuculties of migration and growing up trapped between two cultures. Manjit is a teenage boy living in Leicester (England), brought up by strict Punbjabi parents. Dissappointed by Manny’s grades and behavior, his parents arrange for him to be married in India: They take him there and then return to England […]
A story about the readiness to help, false suspicion and the American ‘war on terror’. This novel is based on the true story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his family: When hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, Abdulrahman was one of the few people who refused to leave. Traveling the sunken city by canoe, he rescues other […]
This is a story about family, loss, suppression and human trafficking: Rosa is living with her mother in Sheffield. When Rosa’s mother thinks about adopting a child, Rosa only slowly warms to the idea. Meanwhile, in an African village, Abela, an orphan from Tanzania is send by her uncle off to England, after her mother […]
A young adult novel from a teenage perspective about bullying, prejudices, religious extremism, manipulation and courage. After moving to a new school in London, fifteen-year-old Muzna faces stereotyping at school and conflicts with her parents about her future plans at home. She finally meets Arif, a confident and beautiful boy from her school, who encourages […]
These five verses explore a child’s perspective on the topic of migration with vivid images of flying, blossoming and dancing comparing its situation with a trapped bird concluding in the and that… “…I see I am a transplanted sapling, here, blossoming.”
This short story from the realm of magical realism problematises resentment, prejudice and peer pressure. Ken Liu’s fantasy story depicts the struggle of a woman with a migrant background between retaining her ‘old’ identity and simultaneously adopting a new one. Her son Jack re-tells several episodes of their lives, showcasing his mother’s special talent: When […]
A thrilling metafictional novel about identity, ideals, racism, terrorism, American patriotism and imperialism, loyalty and distrust. Frame narrative: On a single afternoon at a Lahore café, Changez, a Pakistani man tells an unnamed American stranger about his life: Beginning with his elite education at Princeton and continuing into professional success in glittering New York City. […]
A story about the staple food of many Native American families. ‘Fry Bread’ isn’t just food, it combines Native American culture and history. Additional information about Native American culture and historical context is provided on the last pages as well as a recipe for ‘Fry Bread’. The illustrations accompanying the text allow young readers to […]
A collection of nine humurous short stories about the unusual exploits of different animals. The fifth short story, “The Ant-Eater”, provides a good entry point for poems that can easily be incorporated into the classroom. This poem presents the differences between American and British pronunciation in an unusually witty way. A spoiled American boy begs […]
A story about the Troubles in Ireland and an unemployed teenager caught in a bloody conflict. Cal is a member of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland. Like his peers, he goes to school but unlike his peers, he occasionally works as a driver for the Irish Republican Army IRA. This way he becomes complicit […]
A young adult novel about conflicts and migration, family relationships and a boy fighting for survival. 14-year old Alem is half Ethiopian and half Eritrean. Because his parents countries are at war with each other, his only way to safety leads him to Europe. In London he struggles to be officially recognised as a refugee […]