Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Seriously.  I want to take a road trip there, because Angel Island just soared up to the top tier of my “places I want to visit in the US” list.  Did you know that Angel Island–an island near Alcatraz, ironically–was known as the Ellis Island of the west?  In the latter years of the 19th century up until just before WWII, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other immigrants were detained there, hoping to gain entrance to America.  Their experiences and history make for fascinating reading, although they also make one shudder at the racism they endured.  Russell Freedman excels at making history accessible and compulsively readable for younger readers (AND older readers with small children at home and resultantly diminished powers of concentration); his Angel Island:  Gateway to Gold Mountain is no exception.  Don’t miss it!  (And if you’re planning a trip to San Fran, take me with you, will you?)