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(3)
YA
Adopted Polish American Adam relates--in broken English--his high-school basketball successes and his move to a diverse town in Minnesota. In the often-humorous first-person narrative, socially insecure and self-involved Adam adjusts his comfort zone thanks to his friend, teammates, coach, and crush. Herbach fully develops secondary characters, and he skillfully intertwines social, political, racial, and economic issues with exciting basketball action.
32 pp.
| Viking
| March, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-670-05982-9$15.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Beth Peck.
Nine-year-old Lionel, who lives in New York in the early 1900s, loves drawing. His teacher notices his skill and treats him to an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The telling is a bit wordy; Baker's author's note explains that it's based on her grandfather's life. The accompanying oil paintings, though occasionally muddy, exude emotion and atmosphere.
205 pp.
| Bancroft
| November, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-1-890862-51-0$19.95
(4)
YA
Carl and his brother, Adam, are Polish Catholics living in Portland. After Adam is suspected of stealing, the boys are confronted with the city's anti-Catholic sentiment and the KKK. Set against the backdrop of 1922's Oregon School Question, the story provides an intriguing look into history. Though Carl's endless introspection slows the plot, readers will care about him and his brother.
271 pp.
| Cavendish
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-7614-5319-9$16.99
(3)
YA
In Ray Wisniewski's New Jersey town, Polish American boys are expected to wrestle, African Americans to play basketball. When Ray makes the basketball team his senior year, he's one of the few non–African American players. Throughout the story, layers of racism are revealed in unexpected places--in Ray's family, his friends, and himself. The basketball action and adolescent dialogue are authentic, providing a solid background for its ambitious topic.
215 pp.
| Clarion
| March, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-618-13351-8$$16.00
(2)
4-6
When twelve-year-old Rodzina Brodski boards an orphan train heading west, her outlook is decidedly pessimistic. Like many a Cushman heroine before her, Rodzina is prickly, stubborn, and heart-sore, but she's also honest, likable, and smart. This presentation of the orphan-train saga is solid and thorough, and the story has enough unpredictability to nicely unsettle expectations.
(4)
K-3
We Are America series.
These books bring the story of immigration to America up to the present, but some of the titles omit part of the story. For example, Russian covers both nineteenth-century and contemporary immigration of Soviet Jews, but Irish fails to include discussion of modern immigration. Still, the plentiful photos, stories of actual immigrants, and charts are useful features. Reading list. Glos., ind. [Review covers these We Are America titles: Irish Americans, Polish Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Cuban Americans, Korean Americans, and Russian Americans.]
32 pp.
| Blue Earth
| July, 2002
|
LibraryISBN 0-7368-1208-3$$22.60
(4)
4-6
Coming to America series.
Each book in this series includes quotations, maps, timelines, recipes, craft instructions, and brief facts about famous Americans of the pertinent ancestry. Each book is organized into six chapters ("Life in the Old Country," "Arriving in America"), but there is variety among the books. Archival and modern photos illustrate the text. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Coming to America titles: Russian Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, French Immigrants, Greek Immigrants, and Polish Immigrants.]
118 pp.
| Winslow
| February, 2001
|
TradeISBN 1-890817-27-9$$8.95
(4)
4-6
Dear Mr. President series.
This series features an intriguing concept--a fictional correspondence between a president and a young citizen, thus providing social and political history. Readers who can suspend their disbelief (especially regarding the uneducated coal miner, who seems an unlikely letter writer) will enjoy the books. Photos and reproductions are included. Roosevelt contains a glossary. Bib., ind.
222 pp.
| Scholastic
| April, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-439-05386-2$$10.95
(3)
4-6
Dear America series.
Purporting to be the diary of Polish immigrant Anetka Kaminski, this well-written and engaging story relates Anetka's arrival in Pennsylvania, her arranged marriage, daily life in a coal mine town, her widowhood to a cave-in, and her eventual happiness with fellow immigrant Leon, after the anti-union Lattimer Massacre of 1897. A back section contains historical information and dark archival photos.
85 pp.
| Farrar/Foster
| March, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-374-32747-5$$15.00
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Lloyd Bloom.
Fifth-grader Wanda narrates a quiet portrait of Polish immigrants struggling to make ends meet in 1934. Out-of-work Pa takes out his frustrations on Wanda's older brother Walter. When Walter dies in an accident, the shock is great, but the family--even Pa--is brought together with new affection. Beautifully composed illustrations add to the period atmosphere conveyed in the accessible, simply phrased narrative.