Customer Reviews

We Are Americans: Voices Of The Immigrant Experience

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Fire Escape normally doesn't review non-fiction, but I had to bring this chronological story of America to your attention. If you're looking for one "textbook" to teach upper elementary or middle school students about immigration in America, the Hooblers have provided it. The book begins with speculation about immigration in prehistoric times and ends with an overview of what's happening today. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the stories, letters, and photos of immigrants who recount their own stories. As the jacket flap puts it, "Every child will find an ancestor or a contemporary in this moving story of the immigrant experience." I couldn't put it down, and especially liked the "people movement" take on American history.

We Are Americans is a coffee table book for the classroom, presenting the history of American immigration chronologically, from the new theories of prehistoric immigration to the groups arriving in the present day. Using archival images, artifacts, data charts, and personal narratives, the book explores the factors responsible for immigration, the hopes of immigrants, the hardships of the journey, and adjustments to a new culture, as well as the contributions these new Americans made to our nation. While they learn about the groups and individuals from every culture and continent that formed our country, students will find connections to their own immigration history. This well researched and well produced book offers a detailed index and a further reading list, and is an excellent resource for a study of immigration.