IMMIGRATION

What does it feel like to suddenly find yourself and your family on the move—facing an uncertain future while taking only what you can carry? What happens when a parent’s job dictates that the entire family migrate not only to another country, but perhaps to another continent?

Political and philosophical hot buttons are deftly bypassed as Brundle explains the hows and whys of immigration. From delineating the reasons that cause people to emigrate—“push factors” such as war and “pull factors” such as improved employment opportunities—to a brief overview of immigration laws, readers are introduced step by painless step to this global phenomenon of human displacement. Salient terms are interspersed throughout each chapter and are defined within the context of concise, well-organized paragraphs. The myriad issues discussed are germane to host countries everywhere despite the British perspective of this import. The accompanying photographs successfully reinforce the interconnectedness of all people in the universal search for safety, peace, and shelter. What mars an otherwise exceptional and visually appealing effort is the puzzling absence of a unifying, concluding chapter. Instead, the case study of Iraq is abruptly followed by generic activity pages.

Minor misstep aside, Brundle’s objective treatment of this timely and controversial topic is both highly informative and accessible to a broad range of children and adults.