Ernesto Cisneros tells us he wrote Efrén Divided/Efrén Dividido because:
“Stories help us remember who we are when things get confusing. Stories remind us that behind every headline is a human being. Behind every policy is a family. Behind every statistic is a child with dreams, fears, and a future that deserves care. No matter where you come from, what language you speak at home, or how your family was formed—your story matters. And it’s not finished. This moment does not get to decide whose story is worth telling.”
When she read Efren Divided/Efrén Dividido legendary author Sandra Cisneros said:
“We need books to break open our hearts, so that we might feel more deeply, so that we might be more human in these unkind times.”
Here are books:
That say “your story matters.”
That help us “be more human in these unkind times.”
Efrén Divided/Efrén Dividido
The book to read on DHS/ICE family separation. Compelling and beautiful, the novel shows the full family impact of deportation and how families find trust and community when secrecy and safety are intertwined. —IYNB
Available in Spanish & English
Both Ama and Apa work hard all day to provide for the family, making sure Efren and his younger siblings Max and Mia feel safe and loved. But Efren worries about his parents; although he’s American-born, his parents are undocumented. His worst nightmare comes true one day when Ama doesn’t return from work and is deported across the border to Tijuana, Mexico. Now more than ever, Efren must channel his inner Soperboy to help take care of and try to reunite his family.
Detained: A Boy’s Journal of Survival and Resilience
Cameras are not allowed in DHS detention centers. THIS book takes you inside. A first-hand testimonial of the chaos and cruelty of child detention and a tribute to the acts of kindness that kept this incredible boy alive. —IYNB
The first-ever memoir of a child’s experience in detention on the US/Mexico border under President Trump’s infamous family separation policy. D Esperanza was just thirteen years old when he lost his caregivers, his beloved grandmother and uncle. Since both of his parents were working and living in the United States, D was left on his own in a small town in Honduras. He quickly realized he simply could not make enough money to survive so he made the difficult decision to head north with his cousins and hopefully reunite with his parents in el norte. Together, the boys struggled to survive a long and treacherous journey through Central America and Mexico. Along the way, D and his cousins formed a deep bond, only for the four to be brutally separated at the border of the United States. When he is captured and processed at a facility, neither D nor his family are given an update on when he will be released or where he’ll go next. Over the next five months, he kept a journal of his experience. The pages tell a story of pain, cruelty, friendship, and resilience, a living testament to the reality of the border. Amidst the senseless inhumanity and violence of US immigration policy, D found hope in the friendship he and his fellow companions forged, and mentorship from one intrepid advocate who fought on his behalf named Gerardo Iván Morales.
Tethered to Other Stars
Slow start and then…wow! A perfect depiction of the long-term impact of hiding ones immigration status has on both the mental health of families, but the health of the community as a whole. Incredible human beings cross borders to save their lives and the lives of their children. Not allowing them to belong and flourish is a loss for us all. —IYNB
Seventh grader Wendy Toledo knows that black holes and immigration police have one thing in common: they can both make things disappear without a trace. When her family moves to a new all-American neighborhood, Wendy knows the plan: keep her head down, build a telescope that will win the science fair, and stay on her family’s safe orbit. But that’s easier said than done when there’s a woman hiding out from ICE agents in the church across the alley—and making Wendy’s parents very nervous.As bullying at school threatens Wendy’s friendships and her hopes for the science fair, and her family’s secrets start to unravel, Wendy finds herself caught in the middle of far too many gravitational pulls. When someone she loves is detained by ICE, Wendy must find the courage to set her own orbit—and maybe shift the paths of everyone around her.
Warrior Girl/Guerrera
In prose poetry composed by the character herself, Celina tries to hold together a “shield of joy” made up of words, friends, and a strong loving family after the deportation of her father. —IYNB
Available in Spanish & English
Celina and her family are bilingual and follow both Mexican and American traditions. Celina revels in her Mexican heritage, but once she starts school it feels like the world wants her to erase that part of her identity. Fortunately, she’s got an army of family and three fabulous new friends behind her to fight the ignorance. But it’s her Gramma who’s her biggest inspiration, encouraging Celina to build a shield of joy around herself. Because when you’re celebrating, when you find a reason to sing or dance or paint or play or laugh or write, they haven’t taken everything away from you. Of course, it’s not possible to stay in celebration mode when things get dire—like when her dad’s deported and a pandemic hits—but if there is anything Celina’s sure of, it’s that she’ll always live up to her last name: Guerrera—woman warrior—and that she will use her voice and writing talents to make the world a more beautiful place where all cultures are celebrated.
Barbed Wire Between Us
This book is a masterwork. Mia Wenjen and Violeta Encarnación build a harrowing symmetry between Japanese internment and current child and family detention. In reaction to current ICE policy and action, many say we are “living in unprecedented times.” True. But this is a book will open readers to the truth of the systemic and ongoing violation of the rights of families of color. —IYNB
A powerful reverso poem that tells two deeply resonant stories across time. It begins with a Japanese American girl sent to an internment camp in Oklahoma during World War II. Read in reverse, it reveals the journey of a Latina girl detained in the very same camp decades later, during the U.S. policy of migrant family separation. Harrowing and emotionally charged, this poetic narrative compels us to confront a haunting question: What have we truly learned in the past 80 years about how we treat the most vulnerable among us?
I Will Not Be Scared
For immigrants who have fled war or other violence, ICE action or other violence in our communities can cause them to revisit trauma. This book is not only a window into that painful revisiting, but a model for the gentle, patient conversation that can help free them from that fear. An astonishing book. —IYNB
As a young rabbit tries to fall asleep one night, kept awake by the trauma of his family’s past life in a war-torn region, he replays scenes in his head of an entirely new battle: being attacked by bullies the previous day at school. While his mother tries to encourage him to open up about the incident itself, he hesitates, instead questioning whether he possesses enough courage at all. It’s only through addressing the root of his fears, a process that is never easy, that he understands how to free himself and move forward
Full Detention & Deportation Booklist
I Wish You Knew/Ojalá supieras
Estrella shares her loneliness and anxiety since her father’s deportation and his promise to “…be back one day to see the sunflowers
bloom.” Magdalena Mora’s illustration of the father holding Estrella within the bloom of a sunflower will speak deeply to those experiencing family separation. —IYNB
Available in Spanish & English
“Tells the story of Estrella, a young girl whose father was not born in the United States as she was. During the school year, he has to return to his home country and Estrella is left to deal with his absence…Estrella and her classmates’ experiences are all too common and children will relate, if not for themselves, for others, to this compassionate recommended purchase.” —School Library Journal
Carmela Full of Wishes/Los deseos de Carmela
As Carmela struggles to find one single wish, she names the desire for her father to “get his papers fixed so he could finally come home.” On the final page, her brother brings her to a whole field of dandelions ready to be blown and wished upon. In these “unkind times,” kids need to feel the hope of a whole field of wishes. —IYNB
Available in Spanish & English
When Carmela wakes up on her birthday, her wish has already come true she’s finally old enough to join her big brother as he does the family errands. Together, they travel through their neighborhood, past the crowded bus stop, the fenced-off repair shop, and the panader, until they arrive at the Laundromat, where Carmela finds a lone dandelion growing in the pavement. But before she can blow its white fluff away, her brother tells her she has to make a wish. If only she can think of just the right wish to make . . .
The Capybaras
This book is a joy for all ages. It also carries a crucial message for “these unkind times.” The characters come to understand that when we create rules about who belongs and under what circumstances, we decrease, not increase our safety. —IYNB
Hens and their chicks love their warm, snug home. Life is simple and comfortable in the chicken coop, where everyone knows their place and worries are far away. Until one day, when the capybaras appear. To the hens, the capybaras are too big, too wet, and too hairy. They don’t even follow the rules! But it’s hunting season, and the capybaras need somewhere safe to hide. Can the hens learn to get along with their unexpected guests?
