Immigrant Kids

America meant "freedom" to the immigrants of the early 1900s—but a freedom very different from what they expected.  Cities were crowded and jobs were scare.  Children had to work selling newspapers, delivering goods, and laboring sweatshops.  In this touching book, Newberry Medalist Russell Freedman offers a rare glimpse of what it meant to be a young newcomer to America.

Text and contemporary photographs chronicle the life of immigrant children at home, school, work, and play during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Text and contemporary photographs chronicle the life of immigrant children at home, school, work, and play during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Children's Literature

Renowned photo-essayist Freedman has written two books, Kids at Work and Immigrant Kids, that speak to children through engaging text and pictures. Immigrant Kids captures images of newly arrived children at work, play and learning. Children can extend their appreciation of these books by collecting photographs of their peers to document their own lives at school. These photo-journals can be combined with items representing contemporary lifestyles (e.g. a compact disc, videocassette, computer chip) to create a time capsule that could be stored for future generations attending the same school.

Russell Freedman is the author of over thirty-five nonfiction books.  His works have received many awards, among them the Robert F. Silbert Award, a Newberry Medal, and a Newberry Honor.  He was recently awarded the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award for his contributions to the work of children's literature.  He lives in New York City.