(2) 4-6 It's June 1941 in West Branch, Iowa, and twelve-year-old Peggy's summer becomes marked by two secrets. The first is that she's fallen for Gunther, who is handsome, older (sixteen), and, most importantly, from away. A German Jew, Gunther is staying at a local refugee hostel run by Quakers. The second secret, involving Peggy's cousin and close friend, Delia, is more complicated. Delia has leukemia and has at most six months to live, but this reality is being withheld from the sick girl, who believes that she's simply anemic. The events of the summer and fall -- first love, revelations at the hostel against a background of war -- all play out within the context of Peggy's guilt, anger, resentment, confusion, preemptive grieving, and doomed determination to "fix" her cousin. By the end of six months, she has confronted the difficult truth that the distinctions among stories, lies, and history are not as clear as she had assumed. Bouwman's (Gossamer Summer, rev. 7/23) writing is crisp and specific, painting a convincing picture of rural life of the period, and she stays firmly in the consciousness of her spirited, questing, analytical, mathematically inclined heroine.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jeremy Holmes. Born into a German circus family in 1884, Katie Brumbach dazzled audiences with incredible feats of strength. Conrad opens her tale with Brumbach's legendary win over strongman Eugen Sandow, after which she renamed herself Sandwina. (The author says in her closing note that there is no written record of the victory but: "This legend has been told over and over again.") Readers learn of Sandwina's romance with a skinny acrobat named Max who became her husband -- and stage prop -- and of their immigration to the United States and her subsequent career. Conrad adopts the tone of a carnival barker to reel off her subject's many feats of strength: "Sandwina balanced a 1,000-pound cannon on her chest. When eight men placed a half-ton stone onto Sandwina's back, she threw it off!" Holmes matches Conrad's delivery with a poster-inspired design that leans into Sandwina's charismatic stage presence, topping her burly form with a pile of blue, curlicued tresses, and is complemented by flourishes of display type (which sometimes threaten to overwhelm the narrative). Occasional ticket-shaped callout boxes convey additional information, such as the fact that Sandwina and other circus women joined the suffrage movement. Beneath Conrad's breathless narration runs a strong current of body positivity: "Sandwina proved strength was beauty, and beauty was strength. Katie's bold costumes showed off every muscle." Photographs accompanying the back matter back this claim up. A rousing introduction to a larger-than-life figure.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. This thorough and visually evocative picture-book biography tells the story of Kate Walker (1848–1931), who became one of the first women to serve as an offshore lighthouse keeper. An archival Currier & Ives map of New York Harbor on the endpapers sets the historical scene in the late nineteenth century, when Kate emigrates from Germany. A widow with a small child, she begins work as a cook at Fort Hancock, where she meets and marries John Walker and, after his appointment as lighthouse keeper, settles with him on Robbins Reef. The octagonal iron structure stood on a granite foundation surrounded by water; Spires describes the lighthouse as looking, from far off, like a "tiny candle on a birthday cake." When John dies, Kate remains; four years later she becomes the permanent keeper. Giving equal measure to her devotion to John's last words ("Mind the light, Kate"); her isolation; and her bravery (she rescued fifty people during her near thirty-year career), Spires shows Walker as a quiet heroine meeting challenges calmly and efficiently. McCully's hallmark watercolors support this focus, whether depicting the cramped conditions on Robbins Reef, the pattern of life at the lighthouse, Kate braving dangerous weather, and two spectacular seascapes. Appended with an author's note, documentation, and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. Goldberg (1883–1970) dreamed of becoming a newspaper cartoonist but initially studied engineering. Eventually Goldberg was hired as a cartoonist at the New York Evening Mail, where he concocted the "screwball contraptions" we now call Rube Goldberg machines. Aronson notes that Goldberg "drew comics to make us look closer"; fittingly, this thoughtful, playful picture-book biography does just that, with whimsical pencil, ink, and digital illustrations capturing the intricacies of the imagined machines. Bib.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) YA During WWII, Haruko (who's Japanese American) and Margot (German American) meet in the Crystal City internment camp in Texas. They form a secret friendship that must withstand suspicion, xenophobia, and the degradation of their families. Told in the girls' alternating voices, this is a touching and enlightening story of friendship and perseverance during a shameful chapter in U.S. history. Includes notes on historical accuracy.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(4) 4-6 In 1941, eleven-year-old Gusta is sent to live with her grandmother, who runs an orphan home in Maine. As the story unfolds, she gets in trouble for protesting at the local mill, writing about the true meaning of patriotism, forming an orphans' band, and more. Gusta also finds the missing (magic) "Wish" her mother told her about and uncovers a family secret. While overstuffed, the novel is heartfelt and thought-provoking.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 The Japanese attack on nearby Pearl Harbor shocks and frightens twelve-year-old Rosie. Then her parents (of German descent) are imprisoned as "enemy aliens." Shunned, displaced from their Honolulu home, and staying with resentful relatives, Rosie and her brother can only wait, hoping for their parents' release. Erwin has crafted well-written historical fiction on a lesser-known aspect of World War II internment. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Each book's vignettes (with direct quotes) on real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. There are four other fall 2017 books in this series. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Mexican Immigrants, Somali Immigrants, Japanese Immigrants, and German Immigrants.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Pike. After winning the Thanksgiving raffle, German immigrant Papa brings a live turkey home to Brooklyn (via subway). Indik (Yiddish for turkey) becomes something of a pet to the little-boy narrator, so when it's time for butchering, he's relieved: Indik's "too old! He'll be too tough to eat!" Amusing period illustrations enliven the silly predicament, based on a true story.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) 4-6 Connect: U.S. Immigration in the 1900s series. Eleven-year-old Emma narrates the arduous journey from Ukraine to America as she and her family make their way to North Dakota in 1910, fleeing the discrimination they face as ethnic Germans in Czarist Russia. The narrative is unsubtly curriculum-oriented but fulfills its stated goal of putting a human face on the context for and challenges of early-1900s immigration to the U.S.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 This creative nonfiction picture book chronicles the Peters family's emigration from Germany to America in the mid-nineteenth century. The account, translated from German, balances straightforward information with genuine investment in the family's experience. Vibrant pencil and watercolor illustrations enhance the story's development. The tale comes full circle 150 years later with Peters descendants traveling to Germany to see their ancestral home.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch. A German baker leaves his bakery to feed General Washington's troops during the American Revolution and also persuade foreign mercenaries to defect. Lively, white-outlined illustrations styled like iced gingerbread cookies feature humorous dialogue ribbons, and the sprightly text is excellently suited for reading aloud. A gingerbread recipe and an author's note on the life of Christopher Ludwick are included. Bib.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) 4-6 Interlinked short stories set between 1845 and 2002 offer snapshots of nine generations of a New York City family of German Jewish immigrants and their involvement with America's favorite pastime. With an impressively cohesive mix of sports, historical fiction, and family history, Gratz has crafted a wonderful baseball book that is more than the sum of its parts.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2009

(4) 4-6 You Choose series. In this Choose Your Own Adventure–style book, readers explore the challenging lives of fictional German American immigrants in the nineteenth century through World War I, from farming in Texas and homesteading in the Dakotas to being under scrutiny during the war. Though the text itself is rather dry, paintings and reproductions add detail to the experience. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(3) YA Set in Montana during World War I, Larson's novel tells a gripping story of frontier life through the eyes of an unlikely homesteader--a sixteen-year-old orphan girl. Pressures to be a "loyal" American complicate her situation after she befriends a German couple. Evocative yet straightforward language ably depicts Hattie's joys and struggles. Recipes and an author's note are included. Reading list.

Reviewer: Juliet S. King

(2) YA Welsh spins a decidedly unconventional ghost story about New York's General Slocum steamboat disaster in 1904. Fifteen-year-old Mallory Meer, who speaks to the reader from death, is aboard the Slocum; another passenger is Dustin Brauer, the boy she fancies. Welsh presents the details of the disaster without flinching and explores both the pain and the self-serving motivations of all concerned.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2006

(4) YA Compared to Bitton-Jackson's previous books about growing up during the Holocaust, this catalogue of her life in America in the early 1950s is somewhat tame. The narrative does have some raw emotional moments, but, in general, Elli Friedman (the author's birth name) worries less about life and death and more about matters of the heart, which gives the narrative a fairy-tale gloss.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom

(2) 4-6 Fleeing Germany during the Franco-Prussian War, thirteen-year-old Dina arrives in Brooklyn. In the distinctive first-person narrative, Dina assists her uncle in his sewing business, saves her cousin's life during a smallpox epidemic, and slowly adjusts to her new life. The familiar story is given depth by characters who change and grow and by its poignant understanding of the immigrant experience.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2004

(4) K-3 We Are America series. This informative series introduces young readers to the immigrant experience, from life in the homeland to life adapting to a new culture. Personal narratives, photographs, maps, and timelines present a vivid portrait of the challenges and successes encountered, while descriptions of pastimes and traditions offer cultural perspective. Reading list. Glos., ind. [Review covers these We Are America titles: Chinese Americans, German Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Indian Americans, Filipino Americans, and Italian Americans.]

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) K-3 Checkerboard: One Nation series. Each book follows the same formula: brief historical background, reasons for immigrating to America, encounters with discrimination, assimilation into the mainstream, and the contributions of individuals. Family-style photographs augment the simplistic text. A pronunciation guide and a "Path to Citizenship" feature appear in all the volumes. There are four other fall 2003 titles in this series. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Checkerboard: One Nation titles: German Americans, Haitian Americans, Hmong Americans, Jewish Americans, Mexican Americans, and Somali Americans.]

Reviewer: Christina Dorr