IN THE SPIRIT OF A DREAM

These poems celebrating immigrants of color are “created, written and illustrated by first- and second-generation immigrants of color.”

The biographies are of people from different parts of the world who have come to the United States and made significant contributions in their various fields, raising awareness of their many challenges and the wide range of immigration stories. They include the well known, like Somali American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who’s Chinese American, as well as ones whose achievements are far less recognized, like Paralympic medalist Alejandro Albor, a Mexican American; Korean American comics artist Jim Lee; and the Latinx poet/activist group, the Undocupoets. The inspirational, free-verse poems, all penned by Salazar, briefly share each immigrant’s journey to the United States and beyond. One double-page spread is allotted to each, each illustrated by a different artist; the art is diverse in style, uniformly well crafted, and appropriately kid focused for each subject. Tracy Guiteau’s portrait of a young Edwidge Danticat, for instance, places her with a giant pencil and a blank book against the bright buildings of Port-au-Prince. Backmatter includes brief extended bios of all the people featured along with contributor bios and notes from Chau, who conceived the book, and Salazar. Though a natural choice during immigration and poetry units, it’s more an inspiration and introduction than a research tool in itself.

A lyrical look at challenges faced by immigrants of color and how they’ve flourished.