Greek Americans

Children's Literature

This book is about Greeks adjusting to a new land and their influencing American culture today. The chapters are "Life in Greece," "Adjusting to a New Land," "Greek Americans Today," and "Influencing American Culture." All of them contain essential facts and information that is readable for the age intended. There are lots of photos from sources such as the Department of the Interior, picture collections, and the University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center. Photo information is well labeled. There are Interesting Facts in the sidebars. A Time Line organizes the facts and dates. Other features include glossary, index, and section for further information—web sites, books, places to visit or contact. The book contains just enough information to keep interest and yet to learn much about the subject. This book is a part of the "Our Cultural Heritage" series. The reinforced colorful binding is great. 2004, The Child's World, Ages 8 to 13.
— Naomi Butler

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-These books each look at life in the old country and reasons for leaving, the ethnic group's transition to life in America, the descendants' situation in the U.S. today, and their contributions to American culture. Full-color and black-and-white photos and reproductions are plentiful and well coordinated with the texts. The format is accessible, with interesting facts as occasional sidebars and several full pages that explain pertinent historical events in the home countries. Information is quite sketchy and at times repetitive, with a rather choppy text. The first chapter in Greek Americans is mainly a recitation of how many immigrants came to the States and when-not a very interesting narrative. Klingel mentions the universal military requirement for men as one of the reasons for emigration, implying that the requirement is a thing of the past, when it is still in effect and not much chafed at currently. The choice of words for inclusion in the glossary seems pretty arbitrary (e.g., "independence" is defined but not "liberated"; "roots" but not "traditions," etc.). In Korean Americans, a photo caption is repeated in the text word for word. There is very little if anything available on these subjects for this audience, so these pedestrian titles may be useful in some communities.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.