Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A collection of 20 profiles of first- and second-generation immigrants from around the world who have impacted American life.Organized into five sections (science, entertainment, politics, business, and children of immigrants), the book features well-known individuals such as physicist Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi Germany for the United States, and singer Rihanna, whose musical talent brought her to the United States from Barbados, as well as potentially lesser-known subjects such as astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to travel to space. While the book showcases a wide breadth of individualsamong them Ilhan Omar, Tan France, Alexander Hamilton, and I.M. Peiits unclear how and why they were chosen. Accompanied by striking portraits, the brief entries offer only limited explorations of the subjects lives, often flattening complex topics such as race and class. For example, Cuban-born singer/songwriter Camilla Cabellos experience crossing the U.S.Mexico border as an undocumented child is lumped into the same section as actress Natalie Portmans story of emigrating from Israel to the United States, where Portmans mother grew up. Sidebars break up the text but provide only superficial examinations of, for instance, immigration law and what it means to be an undocumented immigrant.A confusing assortment of immigrant stories too short and vague to be informative or engaging. (Nonfiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A collection of 20 profiles of first- and second-generation immigrants from around the world who have impacted American life. Organized into five sections (science, entertainment, politics, business, and children of immigrants), the book features well-known individuals such as physicist Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi Germany for the United States, and singer Rihanna, whose musical talent brought her to the United States from Barbados, as well as potentially lesser-known subjects such as astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to travel to space. While the book showcases a wide breadth of individuals—among them Ilhan Omar, Tan France, Alexander Hamilton, and I.M. Pei—it’s unclear how and why they were chosen. Accompanied by striking portraits, the brief entries offer only limited explorations of the subjects’ lives, often flattening complex topics such as race and class. For example, Cuban-born singer/songwriter Camilla Cabello’s experience crossing the U.S.–Mexico border as an undocumented child is lumped into the same section as actress Natalie Portman’s story of emigrating from Israel to the United States, where Portman’s mother grew up. Sidebars break up the text but provide only superficial examinations of, for instance, immigration law and what it means to be an undocumented immigrant. A confusing assortment of immigrant stories too short and vague to be informative or engaging. (Nonfiction. 8-12) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.