What do you think?
Rate this book
Children of Immigration
Now in the midst of the largest wave of immigration in history, America, mythical land of immigrants, is once again contemplating a future in which new arrivals will play a crucial role in reworking the fabric of the nation. At the center of this prospect are the children of immigrants, who make up one fifth of America's youth. This book, written by the codirectors of the largest ongoing longitudinal study of immigrant children and their families, offers a clear, broad, interdisciplinary view of who these children are and what their future might hold.
For immigrant children, the authors write, it is the best of times and the worst. These children are more likely than any previous generation of immigrants to end up in Ivy League universities--or unschooled, on parole, or in prison. Most arrive as motivated students, respectful of authority and quick to learn English. Yet, at the same time, many face huge obstacles to success, such as poverty, prejudice, the trauma of immigration itself, and exposure to the materialistic, hedonistic world of their native-born peers.
The authors vividly describe how forces within and outside the family shape these children's developing sense of identity and their ambivalent relationship with their adopted country. Their book demonstrates how "Americanization," long an immigrant ideal, has, in a nation so diverse and full of contradictions, become ever harder to define, let alone achieve.
For immigrant children, the authors write, it is the best of times and the worst. These children are more likely than any previous generation of immigrants to end up in Ivy League universities--or unschooled, on parole, or in prison. Most arrive as motivated students, respectful of authority and quick to learn English. Yet, at the same time, many face huge obstacles to success, such as poverty, prejudice, the trauma of immigration itself, and exposure to the materialistic, hedonistic world of their native-born peers.
The authors vividly describe how forces within and outside the family shape these children's developing sense of identity and their ambivalent relationship with their adopted country. Their book demonstrates how "Americanization," long an immigrant ideal, has, in a nation so diverse and full of contradictions, become ever harder to define, let alone achieve.
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2001
7 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 21, 2009
Read it for a class... very interesting for me personally since I am a child of immigrants. I was able to understand my mother a little better.
October 30, 2024
For all of its research, notations that take up a good quarter of the book’s length by itself, this is a snapshot of how Children of Immigration operate within the confines of the United States. It’s a rapid-fire, blunt, and sometimes heartbreaking snapshot of the trials and tribulations immigrants must go through when either legally or illegally finding their way to the so-called “land of plenty.”
Although this focuses mainly on school-age children, it does touch briefly on the family units as this greatly influences the children in question. Otherwise, it delves as much as it can within less than 200 pages on how immigration either makes or breaks a child and how the outside viewpoints of society have a massive stranglehold on their development.
Coupled with sociology and psychology, this is a great book to have if you work or will be working with any kind of children, even if they aren’t all that diversified. Immigration, legal or not, is here to stay and what we do with the information, research, and history of that concept changes the way society as a whole represents these children. The reality is that America was built on immigrants, what we continue to do with the influx changes everything.
Although this focuses mainly on school-age children, it does touch briefly on the family units as this greatly influences the children in question. Otherwise, it delves as much as it can within less than 200 pages on how immigration either makes or breaks a child and how the outside viewpoints of society have a massive stranglehold on their development.
Coupled with sociology and psychology, this is a great book to have if you work or will be working with any kind of children, even if they aren’t all that diversified. Immigration, legal or not, is here to stay and what we do with the information, research, and history of that concept changes the way society as a whole represents these children. The reality is that America was built on immigrants, what we continue to do with the influx changes everything.
July 23, 2016
Oh my goodness! What an eye-opening account. As I've done my research for my dissertation, I have found examples right here at home of children acting in the same roles as Suarez-Orozco illustrates. I feel that this is one of the best books anyone who works with immigrants could read. I am so glad I read it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews