Kyla Garcia’s narration moves quickly through this history of immigration in the United States, starting with the arrival of the continent’s first Indigenous inhabitants and ending with events following the 2016 election. Tracing the country's complicated political, cultural, and social relationships with immigration, the audiobook depicts continuous waves of immigrants, such as German groups in the eighteenth century, Chinese and Irish Catholics in the nineteenth century, and Cuban refugees in 1980. Breaking chapters up with immigrant stories, such as profiles of the children aboard the MAYFLOWER, helps make the history more engaging. Garcia’s neutral tone reflects impartiality when discussing both the contributions of immigrants in the U.S. and current anti-immigration critics’ claims. S.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
American Immigration: Our History, Our Stories
Narrated by Kyla Garcia
Kathleen KrullUnabridged — 5 hours, 39 minutes
American Immigration: Our History, Our Stories
Narrated by Kyla Garcia
Kathleen KrullUnabridged — 5 hours, 39 minutes
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Overview
Award-winning author Kathleen Krull takes an in-depth historical look at immigration in America-with remarkable stories of some of the immigrants who helped build this country.
With its rich historical text, fascinating sidebars about many immigrants throughout time, an extensive source list and timeline, as well as captivating photos,*American Immigration*will become a go-to resource for every child, teacher, and librarian discussing the complex history of immigration.
America is a nation of immigrants. People have come to the United States from around the world seeking a better life and more opportunities, and our country would not be what it is today without their contributions.
From writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, to scientists like Albert Einstein, to innovators like Elon Musk, this book honors the immigrants who have changed the way we think, eat, and live. Their stories serve as powerful reminders of the progress we've made, and the work that is still left to be done.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Editorial Reviews
05/11/2020
This volume tackles the seesaw history of U.S. immigration: “Debates over immigration have been noisy and emotional.... This book tries to explain why.” Krull (The Only Woman in the Photo) begins by pointing out that the people often thought of as “settlers” were actually immigrants. From there, she traces continuous waves of immigration to the country—German groups in the 18th century, Chinese and Irish Catholics in the 19th century, and Cuban refugees in 1980, among others—tracking the oscillation of public opinion and government policy between acceptance and rejection. Key pieces of U.S. legislation, shaped by fear and inclusive idealism, are discussed, from the white-men-only 1790 Naturalization Law through the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act abolishing racial quotas, up to President Trump’s family separation policy. Capsule biographies of U.S. immigrants (from Trump’s grandfather to Larissa Martinez, an undocumented high school student) punctuate the chapters. Throughout, Krull’s efforts are complicated by choices that range from problematic to debatable (an uncritically positive view of “assimilation,” for example), dulling the luster of Krull’s otherwise persuasive argument that “America came from nothing to be what it is today because of immigrants.” Ages 8–12. (June)
A clearly written, informative, and timely discussion of immigration.” — Booklist
“Krull’s book presents the good, bad, and ugly truths about immigration and should be required reading for everyone.” — Emily M. Schell, Executive Director, California Global Education Project, San Diego State University College of Education
Krull’s book presents the good, bad, and ugly truths about immigration and should be required reading for everyone.
A clearly written, informative, and timely discussion of immigration.
A clearly written, informative, and timely discussion of immigration.
09/01/2020
Gr 4–8—Immigration is a timely issue and one that is not as clear cut as many people would imagine. There is so much more to immigration in this country than Lady Liberty and her torch imply. Krull offers a well-balanced account here, touching on policies that are far from perfect, inconsistent, and often influenced by ignorance and fear. Native Americans were here when Europeans arrived. Were the Europeans immigrants or invaders? The influx of Africans brought here in bondage was less an immigration concern than an economic one. America has a long history of keeping people out: the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1881, aggression towards Native Americans, the 1924 Exclusion Act preventing Eastern Europeans from coming here. During World War II citizens of Japanese descent were interred in camps. Krull has also given listeners a series of small vignettes which highlight particular immigrants such as Albert Einstein and Levi Strauss. Kyle Garcia's narration is solid and well-articulated. VERDICT A great resource for students studying the ins and outs of U.S. immigration. —Joan Kindig, James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA
05/01/2020
Gr 5–8—Krull explores the history of immigration in America and strives to offer a comprehensive view of an issue that continues to impact many young people. The text traces the country's complicated relationship with immigration and immigrants up to the current rulings of the Trump administration. Breaking chapters up with "Immigrant Story" and "Pro and Con" subsections, the narrative moves quickly. However, factual errors, misrepresentations, and oversimplifications prevent the book from achieving its full objective. For example, chapter 12 states "America won the (Mexican-American) War and promptly swallowed, or took over, present-day Texas." Texas was annexed by the U.S. in 1845 and became the 28th state before the war started the following year. The admittedly brief section regarding Andrew Jackson's treatment of Native people omits the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Throughout the text, and particularly beginning in chapter eight, the word "Muslim" is used as a term denoting both religious and ethnic identity. The interchanging usage of the word without proper explanation could confuse young readers. The text also lacks a substantive discussion of the role the U.S. played in creating the military and humanitarian crises that have driven and continue to drive waves of immigration from around the world. There is little to no mention of U.S. sanctions, coups, puppet governments, or many other destabilizing interventions. VERDICT An admirable attempt to address complicated and timely issues concerning immigration throughout U.S. history up to the present day, but the text is unfortunately marred by factual errors, misrepresentations, and oversimplifications.—Ted McCoy, Austin Public Library, Austin, TX
Kyla Garcia’s narration moves quickly through this history of immigration in the United States, starting with the arrival of the continent’s first Indigenous inhabitants and ending with events following the 2016 election. Tracing the country's complicated political, cultural, and social relationships with immigration, the audiobook depicts continuous waves of immigrants, such as German groups in the eighteenth century, Chinese and Irish Catholics in the nineteenth century, and Cuban refugees in 1980. Breaking chapters up with immigrant stories, such as profiles of the children aboard the MAYFLOWER, helps make the history more engaging. Garcia’s neutral tone reflects impartiality when discussing both the contributions of immigrants in the U.S. and current anti-immigration critics’ claims. S.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
2020-02-26
Beginning with the arrival of the continent’s first Indigenous inhabitants and ending with events following the 2016 election, this book chronicles the social, cultural, and political trends that have shaped the United States’ historically fraught relationship with immigration.
Krull contextualizes important pieces of legislation such as the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, tracing how everything from labor demands to world wars shaped American attitudes toward newcomers. The text is peppered with profiles of immigrants, ranging from the children onboard the Mayflower to cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who immigrated to the States from China via France, and Apple founder Steve Jobs, whose birth father and adoptive mother were both immigrants. Laudably, Krull categorically dismisses the classification of slaves as immigrants, and she frankly recounts the genocide of Native Americans. Too often, though, Krull approaches immigration from a deficit mentality. For example, she characterizes immigrants who are learning English as poor performers in school rather than framing them as bilingual; uncritically recounts America’s openness to “any able-bodied immigrant”; and praises the fact that ”all” newcomers to America “have assimilated,” without acknowledging the cultural loss that entails. Most problematically, she asserts without any context that “it’s human nature to be suspicious of people different than us,” seemingly excusing the very xenophobia the book clearly wishes to fight.
This comprehensive take on American immigration history is strong on facts and weak on analysis. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940172728402 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 06/16/2020 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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