Dominican Americans

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8Each book begins with a description of the social, economic, and political conditions that caused emigration; explains why people chose to come to the U.S.; and discusses what the journey here was like. Emphasis is on the period after 1965, when immigrants from India and the Dominican Republic began to arrive in great numbers. The descriptions of the procedures one follows to become first an immigrant and then a U.S. citizen are particularly good. The second half of each title details life in the U.S.the prejudices and opportunities each group has encountered; changes within the family, especially with regard to women's roles; and typical lifestyles as seen through job choices, food, music, etc. Numerous lengthy, absorbing personal narratives interspersed throughout reinforce points made in the text. The readable prose is accompanied by undistinguished black-and-white photographs; the indexes have many spelling errors and even a missing page citation. Christopher Dwyer's Dominican Americans (1991) and Ronald Takaki's India in the West (1995, both Chelsea) cover much of the same material, but in less depth, and are more suited to younger students.Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA