All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel PDF Download

Author: Dan Yaccarino
Publisher: Dragonfly Books
ISBN: 0375859209
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 41

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Book Description
“This immigration story is universal.” —School Library Journal, Starred Dan Yaccarino’s great-grandfather arrived at Ellis Island with a small shovel and his parents’ good advice: “Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family.” With simple text and warm, colorful illustrations, Yaccarino recounts how the little shovel was passed down through four generations of this Italian-American family—along with the good advice. It’s a story that will have kids asking their parents and grandparents: Where did we come from? How did our family make the journey all the way to America? “A shovel is just a shovel, but in Dan Yaccarino’s hands it becomes a way to dig deep into the past and honor all those who helped make us who we are.” —Eric Rohmann, winner of the Caldecott Medal for My Friend Rabbit “All the Way to America is a charmer. Yaccarino’s heartwarming story rings clearly with truth, good cheer, and love.” —Tomie dePaola, winner of a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona

Author: Dorothy Hoobler
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 9780195124200
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
An Italian immigrant says, "I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things: first, the streets weren't paved with gold; second, they weren't paved at all; and third, I was expected to pave them." Against all odds—a new language, new customs, and the ethnic slurs and catcalls of prejudice—Italian Americans paved the streets, rolled the cigars, sewed the clothes, cooked the meals, and did all manner of back-breaking work to build a new life in Lamerica, the land of success. The Italian American Family Album brings us into the heart of those immigrants' experiences. Through diaries, letters, interviews, and articles from magazines and newspapers we share the ordeals and the triumphs of the Italian American first setting foot on his new homeland. These personal accounts and family photographs of scores of Italian American families tell inspiring and courageous stories of hardship and suffering. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the journey across the Atlantic was remembered by many as the via dolorosa, the "sorrowful way." And even after arriving in the new homeland and successfully getting through immigration, finding a job and a place to live, and learning new ways of doing almost everything was a challenge. But there was joy in the new country, as well. The new arrivals were embraced by a community of fellow Italians with a grand sense of humor, an intense appreciation of music, and an even greater appreciation of good food. Life for the newcomer was full of old traditions and pleasure, and we hear first-hand how the old ways endured even as new philosophies and customs were embraced daily. Through the stories of the children of those early immigrants—writers Gay Talese and John Ciardi, entertainers like Tony Bennett, baseball great Yogi Berra, and others not famous, but still proud to call themselves Italian Americans—we see how family pride and strong ties to the old country survive even today. As Governor Mario Cuomo says in his introduction: "I have always been intensely proud that I am the son of Italian immigrants and that my Italian heritage helped make me the man I am." That pride and the unique experiences of the early Italian Americans are an integral part of our country's history. Through the memories and photographs from the albums of generations of Italian families we meet real people, cut of the same cloth as we are—a many-colored and multi-textured cloth of ethnic customs, languages, traditions, and memories. We are a nation of immigrants, and The Italian American Family Album belongs to each of us.

Author: Paul Spadoni
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781521588178
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Imagine suddenly leaving a comfortable and successful job in exchange for a year of living and working in Italy. You book a flight with no definite idea of where you'll live or work, no visa and no work permit. Further imagine taking your wife and two distinctly unenthusiastic teen daughters with you. Your colleagues begin to doubt your mental balance, and you can't blame them. Yet somehow this family learned to work, study, speak, shop and survive in a foreign land while stumbling their way through the delicious process of learning to live like Italians--all ‟without papers." Along the way, the author impersonates an Italian cousin, gets his family lost innumerable times and meets his own personal version of the godfather--the man who hired him and gave him an apartment. The teen daughters struggle to find themselves while attending school by day and exploring young adult nightclubs into the early morning hours--while family members fight to work out their differences. In the tradition of Under the Tuscan Sun and Italian Neighbors, the travel memoir An American Family in Italy will appeal to families of all ages seeking adventure, challenge, a fresh start or a chance to embrace their inner Italian.

Author: Susan Pohlman
Publisher: Ideals Publications
ISBN: 9780824948283
Category : Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The remarkable true story of a couple on the brink of separation who finds love again while spending a year in Italy with their family now including an update five years later. Tired, empty, and disillusioned with married life, Susan Pohlman was ready to call it quits. As soon as she and her husband, Tim, completed their business trip to Italy, she planned to break the news that she wanted to end their eighteen-year marriage. During their last day as they walked along the Italian Rivera, Tim fantasised aloud that, perhaps, they could live there. After initially dismissing the idea, Susan realised that she wanted to give their marriage another try and that maybe life in such a beautiful place could bring them back to each other. Together with their fourteen-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old son, they leave the hectic life in Los Angeles for a more intimate lifestyle in Italy. Susan's funny, touching story reveals how stepping out of their normal day-to-day lives truly united her family in a whole new way. In this expanded paperback edition of Halfway to Each Other, readers will be able to enjoy the original story of-their adventures -- no cars, no television -- and find out where they are today. When they returned to the United States, they went not to California, but to Arizona -- and to a brand-new life.

Author: Laura Ventimiglia
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780997648607
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
An inspiring story unfolds throughout this book of the rich history, culture and ties that bind and define a family of Italian descent, all written through the unique perspective of a letter to the author's children. A masterful way to educate her children about their heritage and instill in them an appreciation and understanding of what makes them unique as third and fourth generation Italian Americans, the "Letter" explores the common themes and differences between Northern and the Sicilian and Southern Italian cultures, social and economic influences, and family structure. With a particular focus on the role of the Italian woman as the heart of the entire ethnic group, as elevated rather than oppressed, as the "giver of life", the author includes a rich examination of the differing nuances in feminist ideology of the United States and that of Italy.In the end, the author artfully challenges her children, and all of us, to ask questions and to continue the journey of understanding, love and activism needed to better our world.

Author: Lydio F. Tomasi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Italian Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Author: Michelle Damiani
Publisher: Rialto Press
ISBN: 8835880866
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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A witty and warm-hearted memoir of abandoning fast-paced American days in favor of discovering the Italian secrets of food, community, and life. Moving across the globe meant Michelle Damiani soon found herself untangling Italian customs, delighting in glorious regional cuisine (recipes included), and creating lasting friendships. From grandmothers eager to teach the ancient art of pasta making, to bakers tossing bread into fiery ovens with a song, to butchers extolling the benefits of pork fat, Il Bel Centro is rich with captivating characters and cultural insights. Throw in clinking glasses of Umbrian red with the local communists and a village all-nighter decorating the cobblestone streets with flower petals; as well as embarrassing language minefields and a serious summons to the mayor’s office, and you have all the ingredients for a spellbinding travel tale. Exquisitely observed, Il Bel Centro is an intimate celebration of small town Italy, as well as a thoughtful look at raising a family in a new culture and a fascinating story of finding a home. Ultimately though, this is a story about how travel can change you when you’re ready to let it. With laugh-out-loud situations and wanderlust-inspiring storytelling, Il Bel Centro is a joyous and life-affirming read that will have readers rushing to renew their passports. “This is one of the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.” “I absolutely couldn’t get enough of this book.” “This book made me want to pack my bags.” “I loved, loved this book. Fabulously written, engaging, and entertaining.” “A magical read.”

Author: Khizr Khan
Publisher:
ISBN: 0399592490
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Khan electrified viewers around the world when he took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. When he offered to lend Donald Trump his own much-read and dog-eared pocket Constitution, his gesture perfectly encapsulated the feelings of millions. The oldest of ten children born to farmers in Pakistan, Khan was a university student who read the Declaration of Independence and was awestruck by what might be possible in life. He and his wife instilled in their children the ideals that brought to America, and then tragically lost a son, an Army captain killed while protecting his base camp in Iraq. Here Khan tells readers why we must not be afraid to step forward for what we believe in when it matters most.

Author: Simone Cinotto
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252095014
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Best Food Book of 2014 by The Atlantic Looking at the historic Italian American community of East Harlem in the 1920s and 30s, Simone Cinotto recreates the bustling world of Italian life in New York City and demonstrates how food was at the center of the lives of immigrants and their children. From generational conflicts resolved around the family table to a vibrant food-based economy of ethnic producers, importers, and restaurateurs, food was essential to the creation of an Italian American identity. Italian American foods offered not only sustenance but also powerful narratives of community and difference, tradition and innovation as immigrants made their way through a city divided by class conflict, ethnic hostility, and racialized inequalities. Drawing on a vast array of resources including fascinating, rarely explored primary documents and fresh approaches in the study of consumer culture, Cinotto argues that Italian immigrants created a distinctive culture of food as a symbolic response to the needs of immigrant life, from the struggle for personal and group identity to the pursuit of social and economic power. Adding a transnational dimension to the study of Italian American foodways, Cinotto recasts Italian American food culture as an American "invention" resonant with traces of tradition.

Author: Lydio F. Tomasi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Families
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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