Tara Mortimer's Reviews > All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel

The historical fiction book All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel by Dan Yaccarino was just fabulous! I feel that this book touched on so many different areas of the topic of immigration and would be a great classroom share. The story explains, through the journey of one person, how so many people came to American from other countries in the past. Students can learn about how names change, how people get their start in American, how small cultural villages form (Little Italy) and how generations pass. I love the incorporation of the shall shovel in the story and how it was used in so many different ways by different generations. Finally, I love that at the end of the story, the man moves to Italy and almost completes the cycle!

In the classroom, there are so many ways this book can be used. For example, students could look into their heritage and ask parents about where their ancestors were from. Also, students could talk about family "artifacts" like the shovel. They could bring items in if they had them and share their stories. This book also gives children the opportunity to learn about what it might be like to arrive in a new country, as well as how so many different cultures enrich our own country. Great read!