A few weeks ago, I took Jack to play at the Tempe Library. I saw Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing sitting front and center on the new non-fiction book display-- so cool, and I was very happy for Nancy that her book was so prominently displayed on my library's shelf! I was going to check it out, but confession time, I had 3 books over due and I hadn't brought them with me! No big deal I thought because I could totally get the Irving Berlin picture book next time.
So a week or so later, I was ready to return my other overdue books and pay my fine. Off I trekked to the Tempe Library. I took care of the overdue book situation, and then went to retrieve Nancy's book off the new non-fiction book display. But it wasn't there anymore. Okay, I'll look it up in the library's computer system-- now the book is sitting in the children's biography section. I'm old enough to know the Dewey decimal system, and so I know how to find 782.4216 BERLIN. But the book wasn't there. The computer system says it should be, but it wasn't. Alright, time to grab the librarian. She couldn't find it either. We walked together all over the children's floor, looking for the book. Finally, we surrendered, and the librarian marked the book missing.
Determined to get a hard copy of this book, I headed over to the nearest library in the neighboring community of Mesa. However, this library didn't even own a copy! So they submitted a request to order one, which is great for Nancy (that means a sale - yay!), but not so great if you are as excited as I am to get my hands on a genuine physical copy of this book. Now, I get to wait for either Mesa's copy to come in or for Tempe to find their missing copy (fingers crossed). While I wound up patiently (sort of) waiting for a physical copy, Nancy was kind enough to send me an electronic copy (thank you Nancy)!
Few children's books pique my interest enough for me to spend this much effort getting my hands on them (let's face it, free time for a working mom can be shorter than a toddler's attention span), and the big question is: was it worth the quest? (spoiler alert: yes!)
Disclaimer: I've been given the e-book free in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.
A Little About The Book
Irving Berlin was one of America's most famous composers, song writers, and musicians. The book opens with five year old Irving Berlin leaving his home: the Cossack revolts in Russia resulted in his family's house burning down, so the Berlin family is fleeing to America. The family, along with many other immigrants, sail into New York City harbor and as they all see the Statue of Liberty, they break out in song. It was the first of many times that Irving tried to capture the sounds and songs of this new city, of this new country. His mother and father both say "God Bless America," at the site of their new home; it is something that will stay with Irving for his whole life.
The book continues to follow Irving as a child, growing into a young man. The book discusses how the sounds on the streets where Irving plays, the prayers in the synagogue where the family worships, the sounds of the apartment where Irving grows up, all these things will later influence Irving's music. Young Irving sings on the streets, which leads to a a job as a singing waiter at a restaurant, which leads to his first song (sold for 37 cents). This job also leads to Irving's first hit song (which is an international hit), "Alexander's Ragtime Band." All the while, his surroundings continue (like working at a restaurant that plays jazz).
Later, Irving serves in the US Army (he also has become a US citizen) during World War I. His job is to write patriotic songs for the Army, and he also composes a show for the troops called "Yip! Yip! Yaphank!" He composed a song for the finale of the show that would become the basis for "God Bless America," but the song was ultimately not used in "Yip! Yip! Yaphank!" When the US enters into World War II twenty years later, Irving wanted to help and inspire his country again, so he pulled out the unused finale song from that show, and with his journey to America and what his parents said when they arrived in the US, he finished "God Bless America." The song was performed by famous singer Kate Smith on the eve of World War II (in 1938), giving people hope and courage. Irving never took a penny for "God Bless America," donating all proceed to the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. "It was his thank you to the country that opened its arms to countless people from all over the world..."
My Review
My first thought is wow! Such an inspiring and uplifting story about Irving Berlin and "God Bless America!" I really want to get a hold of the hard copy now! I want to be able to actually flip through the pages, admiring the actual ink of the illustrations and soak in the words. It is such a well written, and beautiful story. And the the illustrations are gorgeous! The lighting of each illustration, and the theme of Irving's red scarf throughout, and the details of the background are so well done. The illustrations really set the tone and match well the mood of the words.
I also love the message (well at least what I think is the message): that anyone can live the American dream. In time when some Americans think that the American dream is only for those born in the country, it's such an important message-- an immigrant gave us one of our most popular songs about our country and what it means to be an American. And to think about how that could have been lost if we had completely "shut the door" on immigrants.
I worry a little about some of the recent anti-immigration policies set forth by the current Administration, especially for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. If we "close the door," what or who will we be missing out on? Brilliant minds with brilliant STEM innovations? Innovations that could solve some of our biggest problems and challenges (water and energy needs, global warming, cures for diseases, and so on)? And we can't forget the arts and language side of it too-- will we miss the next Irving Berlin and "God Bless America?"
And from what I gather from this picture book, Irving Berlin seemed to want to want to share the gift of the American dream with everyone in the US, so much so, that he wasn't willing to profit from it. It's really cool that he gave all his royalties to such a good cause, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. He also gave all his profits for the song "This is the Army" to the Army Emergency Relief Fund. That's pretty cool.
So yeah, I think this story is such an important one to read with our children. To talk about immigration and what it means to be American (it's more than just a birth right to me). I also like the mentions of Irving's beliefs and mentions of Yiddish and Russian words, which add another layer of diversity to discuss with our children. Not to mention that it's also a great introduction to some fabulous songs (Irving truly was gifted); I really can't wait to share them with Jack on iTunes! "White Christmas" in particular has a special place in my heart, as it's a favorite song (and movie) between my dad and I, so being able to share the story of the composer of "White Christmas" with my son will be pretty amazing (tear). And of course "God Bless America" is such a beautiful song, so reading such a beautiful story/book about this beautiful song and the amazing person who wrote it, is just all around amazingness!
Alright just to sum it up: 5 out of 5 stars (using the Goodreads and Amazon rating systems) and totally worth the epic trips to the libraries to get this book in hand! I can't wait for the hard copies to come in! Thank you Nancy for sharing an e-copy and for writing such a fabulous book (and James Rey Sanchez for the beautiful accompanying illustrations)! It's really a great read, so go get Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing from your local library or bookstore (or Amazon or website or where ever you get books)! Happy reading!
PS: Nancy has some great teacher guides for the book on her website, http://www.nancychurnin.com/.
There's also a project for kids to do on Nancy's website: http://www.nancychurnin.com/make-america-sing/.
Enjoy!
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