Chapter 2: Immigration

Chapter 2 focuses on the topic of immigration. While textbooks often give a cursory view of immigration throughout history, children’s literature and other supplemental sources can provide more detailed and in-depth examinations of the emotional struggle and challenges immigrants face during their journey to their new home and in acclimating to their final desitnation (Lamme et al., 2004). Reading literature depicting a variety of journeys from history to present day can provide a deeper understanding of the environmental, social, economic, religious, and/or political factors that may prompt both fictional characters and real-world immigrants and refugees to leave their homes. Reading and discussing children’s literature can provide what Bishop (1990) famously referred to as “windows,” into the lives of immigrants, or an insider’s view into the struggles and hardships they may face along their journey (Lamme et al., 2004). Children’s literature can also be used as “mirrors” (Bishop, 1990) for students to reflect on connections between the characters and their own lives, while simultaneously providing opportunities for children who have firsthand experience with immigration to see themselves represented in literature (Lamme et al., 2004). Finally, children’s literature can act as a “sliding glass door” (Bishop, 1990) for students to transfer their newfound awareness to the real world, better equipping them to approach immigrants they may encounter in their own lives with kindness, compassion, and understanding (Noddings, 2012).