Library Books
Immigration Books to Read - Grades 4-8
Non-Fiction
Anderson, Dale. Arriving at Ellis Island. (Landmark Events
in American History series). World Almanac Library, 2002.
Reading Level: 6.6
An overview of immigration to the United States in the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, with an emphasis on the important role
that Ellis Island played in processing the newcomers. Includes historical
photographs.
Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas. The Scandinavian American Family
Album (American Family Albums Series). Oxford University Press,
1997.
Reading Level: 7.6
Like the other titles in this series, this book uses first-person
narratives to describe the challenges faced by a group of people who
immigrated to the United States. Includes numerous historical photos
and detailed descriptions of everyday life.
Hoobler, Dorothy. We Are Americans: Voices of the Immigrant Experience.
Scholastic, 2003
Reading Level: 6.3
Using personal narratives, this book chronicles the changing patterns
of U.S. immigration over the years with a focus on the challenges
faces by immigrants and how these newcomers have changed the United
States.
Levine, Ellen. …If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island.
Scholastic, 1993
Reading Level: 5.9
Using a question-and-answer format, this book explains what it was
like to go through the immigration process on Ellis Island from the
1880’s to 1914.
Olson, Kay Melchisedech. Africans in America. (Coming to
America series). Blue Earth Books, 2002.
Reading Level: 6.3
This book describes the horrors endured by Africans on the slave ships
bound for America and the ensuing years of slavery. Includes archival
photos, Internet sites and a listing of famous African-Americans.
Additional nationalities are covered in other titles in this series.
Fiction
Giff, Patricia Reilly. Maggie’s Door. Wendy Lamb Books,
2003
Reading Level: 5.2
A boy and girl set out on a dangerous journey from famine-plagued
Ireland, hoping to reach a better life in America. Immigration history
comes to life through a theme of courage and hope for the future.
Factual information on the potato blight is presented in an afterword.
Hesse. Letters from Rifka. Puffin Books, 1993.
Reading Level: 5.1
Based on a true story, this novel describes the trials and perseverance
of immigrants on their voyage to America. Twelve-year-old Rifka and
her family flee to America in 1919 to escape the harsh treatment of
Jews in Russia. Rifka documents the hardships in letters to her cousin,
written in the blank pages of a book of poetry.
Hest, Amy. When Jessie Came Across the Sea. Candlewick Press,
1997.
Reading Level: 3.5
A thirteen-year-old girl from Eastern Europe immigrates to New York
City, where she works as a seamstress for three years to earn money
to bring her grandmother to the United States. The striking illustrations
portray life aboard an immigrant ship and a spirit of hope and optimism.
Woodruff, Elvira. The Memory Coat. Scholastic, 1999.
Reading Level: 6.2
Through the experiences of two children, readers learn why Russian-Jewish
families fled to America at the turn of the century to escape persecution.
In an author's note, Woodruff describes the true story of an immigrant
child who got through the dreaded Ellis Island inspections after her
family turned her coat inside out.
Woodruff, Elvira. The Orphan of Ellis Island. Scholastic,
1997.
Reading Level: 5.5
During a school trip to Ellis Island a lonely ten-year-old orphan
boy travels back in time to 1908 Italy and accompanies two young emigrants
to America. An author's note tells of Woodruff's own Italian immigrant
relatives. The time travel fantasy provides a sense of history and
offers an unusual perspective on the true meaning of family.
Industrialization Books to Read - Grades
4 - 8
Non-Fiction
Bial, Raymond. The Mills. (Building America series). Benchmark/
Cavendish, 2002.
Reading Level: 6.5
Looks at the different types of mills used by people in the 1800’s
to grind grain, saw logs into lumber, and create power. Also provides
information about the men who specialized in building mills.
Carlson, Laurie M. Queen of Inventions: How the Sewing Machine
Changed the World. Millbrook Press, 2003.
Reading Level: 5.2
Provides a look at the history of sewing and how it was transformed
in the 1850s when American inventor Isaac Singer not only invented
a practical sewing machine, but a way for everyone to afford one.
Crewe, Sabrina. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Gareth
Stevens, 2004.
Reading Level: 6.1
Describes the events surrounding the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
in March, 1911, and explains how the fire led social reformers and
unions to fight for workers' rights.
Josephson, Judith Pinkerton. Mother Jones: Fierce Fighter for
Workers’ Rights. Lerner, 1997.
Reading Level: 4.8
A biography of Mary Harris Jones, the union organizer who worked tirelessly
for the rights of American workers in their struggle for safety, shorter
hours, and the end of child labor.
Kalman, Bobbie. The Gristmill. (Historic Communities series).
Crabtree, 1990.
Reading Level: 5.0
Discusses the steps for building a gristmill and grinding grain into
flour. Includes numerous illustrations.
Murdico, Suzanne J. Railroads and Steamships: Important Developments
in American Transportation. Rosen, 2004.
Reading Level: 7.2
Explains how industrialization created a need for long-distance transportation
in nineteenth century America, and chronicles the development of the
steam locomotive, railroads, and the steamship.
O’Brien, Patrick. Steam, Smoke, and Steel: Back in Time
with Trains. Charlesbridge, 2000.
Reading Level: 5.0
Describes the development of locomotives as seen through the eyes
of a young boy and his family’s experiences driving trains from
the 1830’s to the present.
Thimmesh, Catherine. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious
Inventions by Women. Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
Reading Level: 6.0
Tells the story of how women throughout the ages have found creative
solutions to problems in everyday life by inventing items such as
correction fluid, space helmets, and disposable diapers.
Fiction
Duey, Kathleen. Zellie Blake: Lowell, Massachusetts, 1834.
Aladdin Paperbacks, 2002.
Reading Level: 6.1
A young girl working in the mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, faces
a difficult decision when her boss asks her to spy on the other workers.
Includes descriptions of daily life in the newly industrialized city
of Lowell.
McCaughrean, Geraldine. Stop The Train! HarperCollins, 2001.
Reading Level: 6.2
In 1893 Oklahoma settlers fight the Red Rock Runner Railroad to keep
the train coming into town, because they know that without the train
their community will die.
Moss, Marissa. True Heart. Silver Whistle/Harcourt Brace,
1999.
Reading Level: 4.2
A young woman at the turn of the century realizes her dream of becoming
a train engineer when a male engineer is injured and unable to drive
his train.
Paterson, Katherine. Lyddie. Lodestar Books, 1991.
Reading Level: 6.5
A compelling story of an impoverished Vermont farm girl who becomes
a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts. Lyddie is a strong female
character who depicts the miserable life of mill workers in the 1800’s.
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