Customer Reviews

Who Belongs Here?: An American Story

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Who Belongs Here is not as well known as Knight's other books probably because it is of controversial nature. But books such as this gem are perhaps the most important in our culture today. While the concepts in the book may go over the heads of youger children, an intriduction to taboo topics at an early age will prepare them to face realities as they grow. This, of course, depends on personal opinions about immigration and racism issues and how they should be addressed, but the story in this book can be used even through the high school years to allow students to look at the situation from an angle of a foreigner. We, as citizens of a conglomerate country, should thank Knight for bringing such a story to light.

Nary, a young refugee from Cambodia, is the subject of the book Who Belongs Here? Through narrative and illustrations, the story of Nary's escape from the Khmer Rouge and his resettlement, first in a Thai refugee camp and later in New York City, is told. Accompanying each part of the story is a running commentary on both how and why people immigrate to the United States. This story deals sensitively with the difficulties Nary faces and with the joy he experiences upon being accepted in his new community. This book would work well for young children, who might focus on Nary's story, and with older children, who may use Nary's experience as a way to study immigration history and the process of immigration.

This book would work as a great discussion stimulator with older elementary school children. The fictional story of Nary, a young Cambodian refugee, is mixed with facts about immigration, citizenship, and other cultures. Young students may not be able to make the jump required to connect the story with the facts with the illustrations, but older students should not have a problem with this. The overall effect, though, is of disconnectedness. This won't be a book read for its story, though the story is an important one with themes teachers may want to use in their classrooms like immigration, multiculturalism, racism, tolerance, and refugees.

These themes are explored with an unfortunate bias. As if America and all its majority peoples are bigoted and prejudiced against immigrants. This is a distortion of truth used by Leftists to convince minorities they are not welcomed or understood by the majority in this country. Certainly prejudices and stereotyping exists, on BOTH sides, and is clearly evidenced to exist on the non-majority side in this book. This is an attempt to brainwash children into believing the majority groups in our country are somehow not appreciative nor respectful of the immigrant experience. Absurd...we are immigrants or come from immigrants and all Americans are often TOO proud of that fact, rather than disparaging of it. The most tolerant, kind and generous people in America, more often than not, exist in the majority groups. Again this is a calculated work intended to disparage American norms.