children of immigrants

"As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she's channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her school play. So when Annie lands an impressive role in the production of The King and I, she's thrilled...until she starts to hear grumbles from her mostly white classmates that she only got the part because it's an Asian play with Asian characters. Is this all people see when they see her? Is this the only kind of success they'll let her have--one that they can tear down or use race to belittle? Disheartened but determined, Annie channels her hurt into a new dream: showing everyone what she's made of"--From the publisher's web site.

"In this honest, inspiring and relatable memoir, newly-minted superhero Simu Liu chronicles his family's journey from China to the bright lights of Hollywood with razor-sharp wit and humor. Simu's parents left him in the care of his grandparents, then brought him to Canada when he was four. Life as a Canuck, however, is not all that it was cracked up to be; Simu's new guardians lack the gentle touch of his grandparents, resulting in harsh words and hurt feelings. His parents, on the other hand, find their new son emotionally distant and difficult to relate to--although they are related by blood, they are separated by culture, language, and values. As Simu grows up, he plays the part of the pious child flawlessly--he gets straight A's, crushes national math competitions and makes his parents proud. But as time passes, he grows increasingly disillusioned with the path that has been laid out for him. Less than a year out of college, at the tender age of 22, his life hits rock bottom when he is laid off from his first job as an accountant. Left to his own devices, and with nothing left to lose, Simu embarks on a journey that will take him far outside of his comfort zone into the world of show business. Through a swath of rejection and comical mishaps, Simu's determination to carve out a path for himself leads him to not only succeed as an actor, but also to open the door to reconciling with his parents. We Were Dreamers is more than a celebrity memoir--it's a story about growing up between cultures, finding your family, and becoming the master of your own extraordinary circumstance"--From the publisher's web site.

"A collection of twenty-one personal essays written by refugee and immigrant students, and one current teacher, from Cross Keys High School, Clarkston High School, and DeKalb International Student Center in Atlanta, Georgia"--Provided by publisher.

Gogol is ashamed of his Indian name and when he goes off to Yale, he has it legally changed to Nikhil and throughout his life he feels stricken with guilt and outcast.

"Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from Madison and Milwaukee High Schools" is a collection of thirty personal essays, and accompanying video narratives, written by students attending James Madison Memorial and Pulaski High Schools. In their own voices, these students from twenty two countries describe their childhoods, reasons for leaving, first impressions of this land, and dreams of how they will contribute to it. These digital and written stories highlight the resilience and courage of these new Americans as they face tremendous adversity to be a part of this country. From classrooms to book clubs, from the individual interested in learning more about his immigrant neighbor to the business owner looking to understand her employees and business partners, this book is an important resource for all Americans. The included video links, glossary, maps, and study guide add a multimedia dimension to this already dynamic collection.--.

"Sadiq's third grade class decides that they want a classroom pet, and their teacher, Ms. Battersby, is okay with the idea, so the students form a club to decide what kind of pet to get, and to research how to take care of it"--Provided by publisher.

"Even though it is summer, Sadiq goes to religious school four days a week to study the Quran; he and his friends find their teacher, Mr. Kassim, strict and intimidating, but when Sadiq finds out that Mr. Kassim has a injured shoulder he decides to volunteer to help with the gardening--and he convinces his friends to volunteer as well"--Provided by publisher.

"A collection of personal essays written by twenty-four students coming from fifteen different countries, and five coming from Puerto Rico."--Provided by publisher.

It's Ramadan, and in the spirit of the season, Sadiq and his friends want to give back to their community. The friends band together to raise money to build a new school for children in Somalia, and decide to put on a community iftar as a fund-raiser, but not everyone agrees where their efforts should be spent. Can they find a way to work together?.

"In the linked essays that make up her debut collection, This Is One Way to Dance, Sejal Shah explores culture, language, family, and place. Throughout the collection, Shah reflects on what it means to make oneself visible and legible through writing in a country that struggles with race and maps her identity as an American, South Asian American, writer of color, and feminist. This Is One Way to Dance draws on Shah's ongoing interests in ethnicity and place: the geographic and cultural distances between people, both real and imagined. Her memoir in essays emerges as Shah wrestles with her experiences growing up and living in western New York, an area of stark racial and economic segregation, as the daughter of Gujarati immigrants from India and Kenya. These essays also trace her movement over twenty years from student to teacher and meditate on her travels and life in New England, New York City, and the Midwest, as she considers what it means to be of a place or from a place, to be foreign or familiar. Shah invites us to consider writing as a somatic practice, a composition of digressions, repetitions-movement as transformation, incantation. Her essays-some narrative, others lyrical and poetic-explore how we are all marked by culture, gender, and race; by the limits of our bodies, by our losses and regrets, by who and what we love, by our ambivalences, and by trauma and silence. Language fractures in its attempt to be spoken. Shah asks and attempts to answer the question: How do you move in such a way that loss does not limit you? This Is One Way to Dance introduces a vital new voice to the conversation about race and belonging in America"--.