Pam Muñoz Ryan

Everything a children's book should be: A mystery about the mother is the thread connecting the story; Grandfather & aunts who love & support him; A dad whose reasons for overprotectiveness are discovered in the end; Max's best friend is changing & he feels the loss. The setting could be somewhere in Latinoamerica where people are in danger and have to leave their homes. Lots of self growth occurs when he helps another to safety. Written beautifully with folk stories like dreams woven throughout.

Teachers can use this to talk about immigration & emigration, tying this book to the many nonfiction ones available about relocation because of home insecurity due to violence.… (more)

This book is about a young girl and her brother who live with their great grandma in a small trailer park in California. The story flips around when the children's troubled mother shows up out of the blue, trying to reclaim Naomi. This book follows this story while Naomi finds her identity, learns more about her cultural roots, and discovers things that mean the most to her.
This book is good for upper elementary/early middle school
I would use this book in my classroom when talking about inclusion and representation.… (more)