Return to Sender

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

• a contemporary middle grade novel in which Efrén’s hardworking mother is deported
• shares themes of Recognizing a Higher Justice and Inclusion and Acceptance
• Efrén Divided on SuperSummary

Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse

• a historical middle grade novel written in epistolary form
• shares themes of Giving and Receiving between and within Families and Inclusion and Acceptance
• Use an excerpt from Letters from Rifka in the Paired Text Extension Activity.
• Letters from Rifka on SuperSummary

“Every Day We Get More Illegal” by Juan Felipe Herrera

• a poem that shares the novel’s theme of Inclusion and Acceptance

“Bent to the Earth” by Blas Manuel De Luna

• a poem that shares the novel’s themes of Recognizing a Higher Justice and Inclusion and Acceptance

“Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes (short story version)

• a type of epistolary story told in the main character’s progress reports (similar to a diary)
• shares the theme of Inclusion and Acceptance
• “Flowers for Algernon” on SuperSummary

Other Student Resources

“Immigration and Relocation in US History” timeline

• from the Library of Congress
• offers facts, statistics, and notable events from 1786 to 2001

Mexican migration information site

• from the Library of Congress, with many connected pages to explore
• good place for students to begin researching Mexican migration to the US

“A History of Migration”

• offers examples of major migration events in world history including slavery and indentured servitude
• sponsored by a joint project between the University of Leeds and University of Lincoln

“Writing Epistolary Novels in the Modern Age”

• tips for writing in the epistolary form
• Students can use this site for information or inspiration for the Activity.

Teacher Resources

“What Is an Epistolary Novel?“

• descriptions, examples, and history of the epistolary form from Oregon State University’s Guide to Literary Terms
• text or video

“Letters, Lists, and Instant Messages: Epistolary Books for Middle Grade”

• an annotated list of MG epistolary possibilities from Barnes and Noble