Over Here It's Different

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Four years ago, Carolina Liranzo, now 11, came from the Dominican Republic to live with her father, stepmother, and their family in New York City. Telling Carolina's story, this book relates the immigration procedure and then compares and contrasts her everyday life in Queens, NY, with that in her homeland. The descriptions of foods, schooling, play, and holiday celebrations are accompanied by Ancona's nicely composed, informative black-and-white photographs, many of which cover a whole page or more. The strength of the extended Liranzo family is evident throughout as they adapt to American customs but retain certain values from their old life. A fine study of acculturation, all the more important considering the high number of immigrants coming from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. each year.-Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA

Hazel Rochman

This photo-essay about one girl who came to New York City from the Dominican Republic gives a human face to a contemporary immigration story. Carolina Liranzo, 11, has lived in the U.S. for four years now. She still misses things and people in the place she left, especially the grandfather who cared for her while her parents were establishing themselves in the U.S. At the same time, she feels lucky to be going to a good school, and she's getting adjusted to the differences in food, language, customs, and values. One of the constants in both places is the mutual support of extended family, and she's less lonely now that more of her cousins are coming over in a chain-migration process. The text is more detailed than in the many simpler immigration stories available for younger readers, and Ancona's black-and-white photos show Carolina and many members of her family in all kinds of informal settings: in the apartment block, at school, and with friends.