This Land Is Our Land! My America by Karen Katz

They came and they keep on coming.

CHILDREN COME TO LIVE IN AMERICA--FROM MANY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND FOR MANY DIFFERENT REASONS.

They come from far and near in airplanes, cars, and ships. They come with family and alone to find a new home.

Tae from South Korea eats rice and kimchi... and now... New York-style PIZZA!

Faduma from Somalia, where it was very hot, came to Minnesota, where she learns that she loves SNOW! Maria from Mexico came to Florida, and now speaks two languages, Spanish AND English.

Samaira came from a big, crowded city in India to live on a farmhouse in Pennsylvania because of her mother's new job. Salim played soccer in Iraq, but in California, he learns that he is really good at playing second base.

MY NAME IS JORI. I CAME FROM SYRIA WITH MY MOM, DAD, AND BROTHER. IT WAS HARD TO GO TO SCHOOL IN MY COUNTRY.

NOW WE LIVE IN TEXAS AND WE GO TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY.

And Anna, whose great-great grandparents came from Sweden in the century before last, knows that they came to Wisconsin and built a log cabin, and all her family, cousins and all, are still there!

There are millions and millions of immigrants in America. Some of them are new here, but most of them, like Anna's ancestors, have been here a long time. Some are indigenous people who came here from Asia many thousands of years ago, some came beginning as early as the sixteenth century, some as recently as this decade. And for all of us... it is home.

THIS IS MY AMERICA.

Today's new young immigrants all come with their own stories just as we "old-timer" immigrants do, if we are lucky enough to know them, in Karen Katz's My America (Henry Holt, 2020). For example, many of our familiar favorite foods today--pizza, pitas, tacos, spaghetti, crepes, fajitas, sushi, even fried chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers--were themselves immigrants to America. The old "melting pot" is still on the stove, so to speak, and the better these new immigrants do, the better we all will be!

This book for the early years helps small children understand where people come from and their reasons for coming, a major step toward the duties of citizenship. Says School Library Journal's starred review, "This book tells unique and interesting immigration stories from a child’s point of view . . . . Katz’s illustrations are bold and beautiful, and each child is full of expression. Interesting details in these scenes help convey a deeper understanding of their lives."