Multicultural Review
Intended for students at the older elementary and middle school levels, this historical series features three separate story paths (some of which later intersect), in which readers make decisions leading to a variety of outcomes. German Immigrants in America allows readers to go to Texas in the 1840s, to South Dakota in the 1880s, or to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the First World War. Travelers to the new state of Texas encounter the Comanche and get caught up in hostilities between the United States and Mexico. If they survive long enough, they may have to swear allegiance to the Confederate States of America during the Civil War or make a doomed escape attempt to Mexico. Farmers in South Dakota choose a variety of crops to grow and battle drought and blizzards. Immigrants to Milwaukee choose sides during the Great War and perhaps fall victim to the 1918 influenza epidemic. Immigrants from China can choose to mine gold during the 1850s, move to San Francisco during that era, or work on the railroads in the 1860s. In all three paths, readers encounter severe prejudice that can lead to homes being burned, businesses being destroyed, and in the gold fields, robbery and death. Those who choose to work on the railroad have a very good chance of not surviving; the volume presents all the hazards of work on the railroad, from explosions to blizzards. The Japanese American Internment takes readers to three camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor—Manzanar in southern California, Tule Lake in northern California, and Rohwer in Arkansas (where the student can pretend to be a teacher rather than a Japanese-American internee). Here, adventures intersect, as Manzanar internees who refused to renounce the Japanese Emperor and (if of draft age) serve in the U.S. Army were sent to the high-security camp at Tule Lake. Readers have the option of going to college or into the Army, with the latter choice giving them a sense of what life was like for soldiers during the Second World War. All three books feature maps, photos, and illustrations and conclude with historical notes, a time line, a glossary, questions for further discussion, recommended readings and Internet sites, and an index.
July 1, 2008