Immigration

Children's Literature - Magi Evans

In a nation as diverse as the United States, it is not easy to provide a history of immigration in just sixty-four pages. Yet that is what the author has done in this well-written book for upper elementary students. From the crossing of the ancient land bridge between Asia and Alaska, to the current controversy over illegal immigration, the most important waves of immigration are covered. The author cites many reasons for immigration, including opportunities for economic advancement and escaping political or religious persecution. The recurring theme of the book is the discrimination against each ethnic group immigrating to America throughout its history, and the success of those groups in overcoming discrimination and becoming contributing citizens. The text concludes with the issue of balancing immigration and national security. The book is well-organized in chapters of ten to twelve pages. The author uses vocabulary appropriate to the age level, and the book is well-designed with an easy to read font size, and larger sized paragraph headings to break up long portions of text. Illustrations and photographs provide images appropriate to the text, while sidebars add extra details about some topics, such as "A View from Abroad," about how other countries viewed America's treatment of its immigrants at the time. Words in bold print in the text are defined in the glossary, and the index is quite detailed for a book of this length. A timeline provides major immigration milestones. The United States map showing where large groups of immigrants settled might have included more of those groups. Resources at the end of the book include books and web sites for students to expand their research. Addressing an important topic in the curriculum of many elementary schools, this book is a recommended addition to the "Cornerstones of Freedom" series. Reviewer: Magi Evans