Amazing True Stories Brings the Ellis Island Experience To Young Readers
AMAZING TRUE STORIES ELLIS ISLAND EXPERIENCE
By Ginjer Clarke and Diego Jourdan
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Format: softcover, 6x9, full color, $6.99
ISBN: 978-1-60010-735-1
Making history interesting for young readers, especially boys, seems to be a perpetual challenge. IDW Publishing's Amazing True Stories series seems poised to address this with the Ellis Island Experience, which balances a textbook presentation of facts with the visual appeal of graphic novels.
The story follows the Casilli family who immigrate to the U.S. in 1906 in hopes of escaping the impoverished conditions of their native Italy. The process by which they do this - selling most of their possessions, travelling in cramped ship quarters, enduring the immigrant screening once in America - is laid out in detail, giving the reader a sense of just how difficult it really was.
Since the story's told from the perspective of ten-year-old Giorgio, there is a natural sense of wonder and excitement in the narrative. But the hardships of the journey are shown as well, from sick buckets on the immigrant ship to the people who don't make it past the Registry Room.
The book takes a split approach in presentation. The top of each page tells the story through a simple text narrative, while the lower half illustrates the passage through in typical comic book style. By using these styles together, the book is able to relay a good deal of information without overwhelming the reader. The prose section both tells the story and relays many of the facts surrounding the immigration experience, while the art makes it accessible and successfully maintains a steady dramatic flow.
The presentation of the material is suited for educational use, as it introduces new facts and concepts in an easily understandable way. In addition, there are a series of open-ended, thought- and discussion-provoking questions included which can help young readers fully grasp the story they've read, and how it relates to the immigrant experience today.
Amazing True Stories: The Ellis Island Experience (JUL100373, $6.99) will be released September 15, 2010.
See below for sample pages from the book:
