Brenda Aguilar-Hernandez's Reviews > All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel

"All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel" is a historical fiction book. It tells a wonderful story that involves first, second, and third generation immigrants. The story begins with the third generation immigrant protagonist who tells the story of his Italian great-grandfather. His great-grandfather had been given a shovel from his own father to help in a village. His great-grandfather had to leave his home because his family was poor. So, he immigrated to America for new possibilities. His great-grandfather passed the Ellis Island like many other people did. It talks about the whole new life in the U.S. of the protagonist's great-grandfather. That special shovel which symbolizes "work hard" goes through many generations till it gets to the protagonist's hands. This book connects to my text set of immigration because the first generation immigrant great-grandfather started family history. The story is engaging for children because of its easy language. It provides a strong plot with characters who seem to be realistic because of their experiences. The illustrations are bright, very colorful, and full of detail. They capture attention while reading because it connects to the text. This story is impressive because the story is for the most part based of the author's own experiences. Therefore, the author is a part of the immigration experience. Overall, this book is wonderful because it has a story that you don't read much about. This allows the readers to understand and appreciate the story in this book.