Arn?z, Lynda.

Presents a first-person fictional account of what it might have been like to go through the process of immigrating to America through Ellis Island in the early 1900s.

Living in the American colonies was difficult at times as towns were built, governance was established, and people from many different backgrounds, including Native Americans, learned to live together. By the 1770s, many colonists were asserting their belief in a new country free from English rule. Readers meet a young colonist growing up during the tumult of the pre-Revolutionary era. This unique, first-person perspective introduces readers to a period important to the social studies curriculum. Historical images and fact boxes add context to the main content, which focuses more on the chores, schooling, and family life of colonial children.

Childhood has changed exponentially since the early 1600s. From what chores one must do to the roles of men and women, children today don’t have much in common with children of Algonquian tribes. Readers learn from a unique first-person narrator about growing up as a Powhatan child. Food, clothing, and shelter are covered in the main content, as well as historical context of tribes living near the Jamestown settlement. Readers will feel transported to a different time and a whole new, exciting culture.