Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Preprations in the library for our 100th Anniversary celebration have been underway and keeping all of us here very busy!

Our newest book, if you didn't know, is "Home of the Brave" by Katherine Applegate. (Summary from the inside cover:) Kek comes from Africa. In America, he sees snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He's never walked on ice and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter --cold and unkind. In Africa, Kek lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived, and now she's missing, Kek is on his own. Slowly, he makes friends: a girl who is in foster care, an old woman who owns a rundown farm, and a cow whose name means "family" in his native language. As Kek awaits word of his mother's fate, he weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in his new friendships, strength in his memories and belief in his new country."

Home of the Brave is written in a series of poems, which has been a fairly popular format in recent years.

As for this weeks discussion, I'd like to focus in on immigration. It's been a hot-button topic in recent years, espeically illegal immigration from Mexico, on the borders in the Southern U.S. Immigration wasn't always what it is today, that is to say: it was encouraged and expected. As you've learned in History class, America is founded almost entirely by people from other nations. The eary pilgrims came from England to escape Religious prosecution, and were followed by more and more, as the country began to develop westward.

Another big Immigration Boom happened in the 1850s and again in the early 1900s. Most immigrants at the time had to go through Ellis Island, just off the coast of New York, before they were admitted into the country. While Ellis Island is no longer used as the entry point to the US, it is still a tourist attraction for anyone who would like to know more about early immigration into the US.

Here are some informative links I found on Ellis Island and early Immigration:

Ellis Island Statistics

The Brunk Swedish-American Museum

Just Curious: Immigration Links


Today, immigration is a little different. You can enter the United States anywhere, but you need a Visa, or permission to be here. When your Visa expires, you're expected to return home. However, long-term immigrants can obtain US citizenship through several venues including marriage, or taking a Citizenship (or Naturalization) test. Below is a link to a practice test --you can choose then number of questions between 5 and 50. I did 10 questions and got 70% --you need 60% to pass. I just barely made it!

Online US Citizenship Practice Test

Share your results in the comments! Were you surprised by your score? Tell Mom and Dad to try it out and see how they fair at it.


Happy reading!

Samma