HOW I BECAME AN AMERICAN Batchelder Award Winner 2002

HOW I BECAME AN AMERICAN

Bibliography: Gundisch, Karin, Translated by Skofield James. HOW I BECAME AN AMERICAN. 2001. Chicago: Cricket Books. ISBN: 0812648757

Plot Summary

The dawning of a new century and the industrial revolution brought many European immigrants to the United States. The Bonfert family from a small town in Germany was one of the many families leaving their home country to find "paradise" in America. The story unfolds as father leaves the homeland to go to America, save money and later send for the rest of the family. Johann, the young protagonist, gives details of the journey from their small village by train to Bremerhaven to board the ship to America and continuing on with a rough journey in the third class steerage section of the ship and finally through Ellis Island and another train ride to Youngstown to join his father and older brother Peter. Upon arrival in Youngstown as the family settles into the new life Johann begins to pen a journal of all the changes that are taking place in their new homeland. He notices how easily the younger people adjust to changes in their lifestyles and how hard it is for many of the adults to let go of the "old ways". His older brother moves on to California in hopes of buying farmland and his sister socializes with immigrants from other countries by sneaking off to a dance without her parents permission knowing they would not approve. Johann and his family are not sure how to describe their new life to those left behind, but his mother finally summed up their new life "If things are going badly for you, immigrate. But if things are going well for you, better stay put."

Critical Analysis

This is the 2002 Batchelder Award winner. The Batchelder Award is an award presented by the American Library Association each year to honor the most outstanding children's book originally published in a foreign language and translated into English and published in the United States. This book was first published in German as DAS PARADIES LIEGT IN AMERIKA and translated by James Skofield as HOW I BECAMEAN AMERICAN. As a history major I found this book to be authentic in the experiences and realities of the lives of European immigrants to America in the early 20th century during the expansion that arose as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Life was hard in the rural village where the family lived in a small two room house with Johann's grandparents. His father worked as a weaver and made little money. There was plenty to eat because of the garden that the women worked, but there was little left for necessities such as shoes for the children. Like others of the time the family heard about the opportunities available in America, so the father set out to make a better life for his family in America. When the family was sent for the trip to America was long and hard with little food, sickness and even death. The entry to Ellis Island was historically correct with the people being checked for illnesses and sent back to their native lands if they were unhealthy. Men and women ill with tuberculosis as well as those with contagious eye infections and scabies were sent back home. Last names were changed many times upon entering Ellis Island. Johann tells of a friend from Poland whose Polish name was Kowalski, but the Irish clerk didn't understand so he asked the interpreter what the name meant and he replied "Smith", so the name was immediately changed. Language was a barrier for the family, but with the children enrolled in school they soon began to learn English and the mother learned from the children. Many immigrants blended their native language with English to form a mixture of both languages. An example of this is apparent in our state of Texas where the German culture of Central Texas, blended their dialect with English. Unfortunately, as the older generation dies out the younger generation has not learned the dialect and it is becoming a lost language. This is also true in other immigrant cultures as well and became apparent to Johann, later known as Johnny, in HOW I BECAME AN AMERICAN. There were some labor laws in effect, many of the immigrants were not aware of them and did not understand or read English well and were taken advantage of. A farmer from Rumania was badly burned in a steel mill accident and the boss offered him two cases of beer a day and added that the steel mill would provide a doctor and medications in return for a written promise not to make any more claims against us. The man signed the statement, not understanding it, and later found that there were laws to protect the workers, but since he had signed the waiver, he was not entitled to any more help. One area that is a little "too nice" is the success that Johann's family had when they immigrated to America. History tells us that most of the factory workers and families did not fair as well as the family depicted in the book. Johann describes the mustaches of the older men, a tradition brought from their homelands, and the clean-shaven faces of the younger immigrants. Many of the immigrants' children dropped out of school to work in mills, factories and mines, although they were offered free education to the age of fourteen. They left to help their families survive. Christmas was celebrated with a traditional dinner of broiled sausage, kraut, cornmeal mush and stewed prunes. Eventually Amerika becomes America to this family as it did to so many immigrants of the early 20th century. The afterward gives a brief explanation of the reasons for the mass immigration to America by Europeans in the late 1800's and early 1900's and is a nice reference for children and others that are not aware of the historical reasons for this wave of immigrants.

Reviews:

Horn Book Guide: In 1902, Johann and his family emigrate from Austria-Hungary to Ohio for a better life and for work in a steel mill. During the voyage, Johann's baby sister dies, but once in America the family slowly adjusts to new American customs. The story stays flat without a crisis or resolution, but the direct, unvarnished voice and careful research make this book informative and readable.

School Library Journal: An immigration story of the early 20th century, this lively and interesting account is told through the eyes of "Johnny" (Johann on his birth certificate). His father is the first of this German-speaking family to emigrate from Siebenburgen (Austria-Hungary) to a job in the steel foundries of Youngstown, OH. Eldest son Peter follows him, and, in 1902, 10-year-old Johnny and the rest of the family arrive. They experience difficulties, such as the death of little sister Eliss, but manage to prosper, with Johnny selling newspapers, little Emil working in a bakery, and older sister Regina a housemaid. Peter heads for the farmlands of California, and Mama has her chicken farm and egg business but is persuaded she could earn more by turning the barn into a boarding house. This upbeat, often humorous, realistic narrative incorporates songs used to encourage or discourage potential emigrants and even neatly ties in the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin. It could be the tale of many an immigrant family coming from central Europe and adjusting to life and customs in a new country.

Connections:

Auch, Mary Jane. ASHES OF ROSES ISBN 0805066861
Glaser, Linda. BRIDGE TO AMERICA: BASED ON A TRUE STORY ISBN 0618563016
Gonzalez, Maya Christina. MY DIARY FROM HERE TO THERE = MI DIARIO DE AQUI HASTA ALLA IBN 0829391758
Polacco, Patricia. KEEPING QUILT ISBN 0689820909

The use of this book would be valuable when working on a unit on immigration. Ask the students to interview parents/grandparents for stories of their ancestral immigration experiences to the United States. Some of these stories may be historically correct and others not, but they make for interesting study of the immigration process.