When This World Was New

This is a picture book about a little boy and his family who move from a foreign country (presumably Cuba since that is where the author is from) to a city in America. None of them speak English and they are all worried, but the boys Uncle Berto who already lives in America helps them out with a house, new clothes, and helping the dad find a job. The book hints that they moved here to get medical help for the mother who is sick and sad. The little boy wakes up and gets ready for his first day of school, and it is snowing, something he has never seen before. The dad and him go out to play in the snow, and the dad assures the boy that he is a good learner and will catch on quick. They come in from playing and mom is there waiting for them at the door with a big smile. The book ends with Uncle Berto shows up and takes the boy to school, and the dad off to find a job. The boy says he's still scared, but not as much. This would be a good book to read in a classroom where there are ESL students, as some of the sentences are in Spanish. They could even help out with reading it and it may make them feel comfortable. It's also a good book to read so students are exposed to multicultural books, and could even be encouraging to students who are worried they might not fit in or do well in school.