W is for Welcome: A Celebration of America's Diversity (Sleeping Bear Alphabet Books) - Hardcover

Herzog, Brad

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1585364029 ISBN 13: 9781585364022

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, 2018

Synopsis

2018 Eureka! California Reading Association Honor Book Award Following the alphabet this book uses poetry and expository text to celebrate America's diverse population and showcase the remarkable achievements and contributions that have come from the many people who have chosen to make our country their home. Topics include well-known landmarks and institutions (the Statue of Liberty and the White House, our national parks system) and famous citizens whose talents helped make the United States a world leader (Albert Einstein and Madeleine Albright). In addition to celebrating America's history and development, key concepts such as naturalization and steps to citizenship are explained in easy-to-understand terms for the young reader.

About this title

About the Author:

Brad Herzog is the author of numerous children's books, including S is for Save the Planet: A How-to-Be Green Alphabet.

Review:

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. --Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1585364029
• ISBN 13: 9781585364022
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Bowles Doug, Brookfield Maureen K., Carroll Pam, Gardner David C., Gibson Barbara Leonard, Graef Renée, Guy Susan, Young Ross B., Frankenhuyzen Gijsbert Van, Urban Helle, Monroe Michael Glenn, Knorr Laura, Juhasz Victor