W is for Welcome

March 15, 2018
Grades 3-6 Organized as an abecedary, this book celebrates immigration by painting a picture of the variety of paths taken by people who have settled America over the centuries. Letters of the alphabet are matched with concepts such as freedom, liberty, and heroes, which are accompanied by brief explications, terse quintains, and illustrations by a variety of artists. Herzog notes familiar aspects of history, such as the theory that Native Americans crossed the Bering Strait, the arrival of the Mayflower, and the work of Chinese and Irish immigrants on the Transcontinental Railroad. Also noted are the cultural contributions of immigrants such as Levi Strauss, Albert Einstein, and John Muir. But the most interesting aspect of the book is that it provides explanations of the less romantic elements of immigration: the push factors such as war, persecution, and poverty; the lengthy complications of the naturalization process; and the privileges of citizenship. Middle-school teachers might use these points as springboards to discuss the struggles of adaptation and controversy of assimilation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

April 1, 2018

Gr 3-6-An A-Z poetry collection that introduces various aspects of U.S. culture with an emphasis on immigration stories. Each letter receives an eight-line poem that introduces and sums up the theme with a more sketched out paragraph of information located at the side of the page. Some lines are odd ("C is for Cultures/A salad bowl of many flavors") but most are appropriate for the audience. The more expository text does acknowledge weightier topics (e.g., enslaved people built the White House) but tends to muddle it with vague and tone deaf follow-ups ("So while its builders were a diverse group, the country still had a very long way to go."). The illustrations for each letter are done by different artists (with some artists illustrating several letters), but they all use the same soft, detailed style that perfectly captures intricate landscapes and portraits as well as more complex ideas, such as the naturalization process, culture, and refugeeism. However, a number of scenes depict people in cultural costumes, which may reinforce stereotypes. VERDICT An additional consideration.-Molly Dettmann, Moore Public Library, OK

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2018
A celebration of diversity in the United States in pictures, poetry, and prose.Mediocre but accessible five-line poems and explanatory text could serve a variety of audiences, as both a poetry read-aloud and a nonfiction text that might spur kids to do more research, if only there were some sources listed. The quality of the paintings and drawings by "nationally acclaimed" artists really varies, from Doug Bowles' sensitive portrait in pastels of Emma Lazarus with an abstract Statue of Liberty crown, on the "P is for Poem" page, to Laura Knorr's old-fashioned stereotypical international children on the "C is for Cultures" and the "D is for Diversity" double-page spread. Middle graders will start to understand some important issues surrounding immigrants (both documented and undocumented) and refugees, but without a chronological framework, young people will have a difficult time grasping the real historical significance of diversity in the U.S. In this "Celebration of America's Diversity" the author has barely scratched the surface of anti-immigrant feeling in the U.S., with one paragraph on the "E is for Ellis Island" page mentioning anti-Asian laws and the detainment policies that kept some people on Angel Island for years.In today's political climate, a book on this topic can be very important, but this one misses the mark in spite of some of the interesting facts it contains. (Informational picture book/poetry. 7-11)

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January 1, 2019
This timely alphabet book looks at the history and contributions of immigrants in the United States. Each page represents a different letter and a word beginning with that letter that relates to diversity and immigration. In addition to the (sometimes awkward) rhyming verses for each word, a few paragraphs of further information are provided along with original art created by one of several included illustrators.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)