As fourth graders one of the things we study in social studies is immigration. So often we think of those immigrants as people who came to the United States hundreds of years ago. Little Cricket tells the story of modern day immigrants, and is set in Minnesota. It is a wonderful story, but is based on the real events of our society.
Kia lives happily with her family in Thailand. We get to know Kia, her brother Xigi, her parents and grandparents in the first part of the book, and we see them as a pretty typical family. However, during the Vietnam War Kia's village is no longer peaceful. They struggle for a time, and Kia's father is taken by the North Vietnamese where he will be forced to fight for them. Kia's grandfather assists the Americans who are trying to help free the people. This is a terrifying and dangerous time, and when her grandfather becomes ill the family decides to leave for a better life in the United States.
Families from Minnesota (and other areas around the country) are working together to help assist these families, but there are many challenges. There is a lot of "red tape" and paperwork, and because of an error, Kia's mother and grandmother are forced to remain there while only Kia and Xigi travel with their grandfather to Minnesota.
Through Kia's story we can learn how it feels to leave everything you know and love, and move to a place where the customs, the language, the life itself is so very different. Author Jackie Brown wrote this story in 2004, and the story takes place in the mid-1970's when a large number of Hmong families came to live in Minnesota. We are welcoming immigrants from around the world continually. I believe that reading this story will help all of us be more understanding of the challenges our new citizens face, and will teach us to show more compassion as we work together to make them feel at home.
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