Immigration
BOOKS
Coming To America: The Story Of Immigration
By: Betsy Maestro
Illustrated By: Susannah Ryan
non-fiction
This book travels from the beginning of America and the very first immigrants, the Native Americans, through the history of immigration in the United States ending with today's populations of immigrants. This book discusses each wave of immigrant from each country and the reasons why they traveled to America.
I chose this book because it explains everything historically in depth from the very first immigrants, Native Americans, to present day immigrants. Since it explains the time period it helps make the students understand what was really happening during each time for each group. The illustrations really compliment the reading, showing exactly what is happening in the text. It creates a beautiful visual for the students to truly understand the experiences of immigrants. I also liked this book because in the back of the book there is a table of dates in regards to immigration as well as a paragraph explaining immigration today and a section of interesting facts about immigration so the students can learn and explore further. I wanted to use books that explain information and experiences well in text and also the illustrations and this book does just that.
...If Your Name Was Changed At Ellis Island
By: Ellen Levine
Illustrated By: Wayne Parmenter
non-fiction
This book takes an in-depth look at what life was like for the immigrants during their travel and once they landed at Ellis Island and after. It explains hardship and the reality of everyday life of being an immigrant.
This book really is great at explaining the realities of immigration and traveling to Ellis Island to arrive in America. It includes all of the hardships they had to face during their voyage and once arriving at Ellis Island, such as being examined and what would happen if the doctors did find something wrong with you as well as hardships after they left Ellis Island, such as, how did they learn English and what Americans thought about the immigrants. I chose this book because it does all that. It doesn't do a brief overview of immigration but answers questions we have about details of the life of an immigrant when traveling to America. It helps us understand their everyday life while they were immigrating. The pictures relate back to the text and play to our emotions. We can see the hardships that they had to face. It answers the questions asked in a logical series of events of what one would experience.
Immigrants
By: Martin W. Sandler
non-fiction
This book starts off with telling why immigrants left, what life was like while immigrating and entering Ellis Island and then delves further into the lives of immigrants after leaving Ellis Island. The every day life of immigrants and the over crowding of cities is explained to give students ideas of how hard life was for their families to start new lives here. It also discusses expansion away from the cities and life working outside of the city.
I chose this book because it focuses on life after leaving Ellis Island. It discusses how it was for the immigrants to find jobs and what life was like living in a very crowded city with everything new to you. It also talks about when immigrants left the city to find new work and how life was like for them on the railroads or the fields. When deciding what books to use, this one was a must, because it uses real life pictures to help explain what is happening. When most children first learn of immigration they believe it to be a very positive experience for the immigrants, coming to a land that is the land of the free. This book does a great job at showing the hardships one faced once arriving in America and starting a new life for themselves.
If America Were a Village
By: David J. Smith
Illustrated by: Shelagh Armstrong
non-fiction
David J. Smith writes a book where he creates a village of 100 people in which each person living within the village represents 300 Americans living in the World today. This book portrays who we are. We are different. It shows where these people come from, what foods they eat, what religions they practice, age, wealth, family structure and more. This book shows how immigration has impacted America Today and how diverse our society is.
This book does a tremendous job at showing differences and culture. I chose this book because it shows what America is like today, but on a smaller scale. It really helps portray the effects that immigration had on America, because that is why we are all different. I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book-they really show the differences that the text is talking about. It also has real facts about immigration in it as well so the students can get some perspective and facts as well. One of my favorite parts about this book is that it doesn't portray America with all of it's best qualities. It also discusses that some peole don't have homes or food or clean drinking water. Some students might not know that this occurs in America, but through this book they will learn what America really is.
At Ellis Island: A History In Many Voices
By: Louise Peacock
Illustrated By: Walter Lyon Krudop
fiction
This book follows the stories of two young girls, the first a little girl visiting Ellis Island, where her Great-Grand Mother entered America. She walks the halls and learns about the experiences her grandmother and other immigrants had. The second is an Armenian girl who is fleeing from her home country and looking to be reunited with her father walking those same halls and we learn her thoughts on that experience.
I chose this book because I love the narratives it contains. The majority of the text are quotes or letters being written by the two girls. Through these letters we can truly get a sense of what it was like to be an immigrand and all of the feelings they must have had during that time of their lives. It contains real life pictures so the students can observe them adn sympathize with them and the text. The physical layout of the book is very appealing and engaging. The text is different and the pictures and illustrations are all different sizes.
When Jessie Came Across the Sea
By: Amy Hest
Illustrated By: P.J. Lynch
fiction
This story follows a 13 year old girl's journey as she is given a free ticket to America by her village's Rabi. Not wanting to leave her grandmother she boards a ship to America where she sews lace for three years in New York to earn enough money to pay for her Grandmother's voyage to America as well. Jessie falls in love with a young man whom she had met on her way to America and her life in America wasn't as bad after all.
This book is great because it follows the immigration story of one individual adn we learn how she feels throughout all of her experiences during immigrating to America. The illustrations express the text very well. The large illustrations of water color help aid the students in comprehension. You could almost use this book for just the illustrations and read it as only a picture book. The story is well written and it will entice readers to find out what is going to happen to Jessie in the new world. Since she is a little girl, it is relatable to children reading this book.
The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung
By: Laurence Yep
fiction
This story is in the form of a journal of a little boy who is sent to California by his parents to help his uncle towards the end of the California Gold Rush. "Runt", his nickname, does not want to leave but listens to hsi parent's wishes and treks to California, reciting a harsh environment during his trip and feelings of unwantedness by the Americsan Miners. Through his journal entries we learn that the American miners were not happy with immigrants because they caused them to pay taxes and loss in pay. Runt shares his feelings of his family and his new life in California, missing his family, but yet can't leave the Gold Mountain.
This book's text are journal entries. We learn all the emotions and feelings and day to day activities of Wong Ming-Chung. We learn of what is life was before America and following his life through working on the Gold Mountain. Laurence Yep did a great job portraying and giving details about what life would be like for a young male immigrant working during the California Gold Rush. I also really enjoy the pages of the book, with their rough edges that make the book seem as if it were really a journal. Reading a book that is in journal entry form is different than most books students read, so already, it adds an interesting factor to it.