WHO BELONGS HERE?

A well-intentioned blend of a fictional Cambodian boy's story and a social-studies unit on diversity. Nary and the remnants of his family, who fled the Khmer Rouge, find physical security and material abundance in the US, but also resentment and ethnic intolerance. The nonfiction gloss, in italics, pulls in topics as diverse as Ellis Island, linguistic and culinary borrowings, the Iroquois Great Law of Peace (described as a model for parts of the Constitution; the endnotes, more accurately, label this idea as speculative), immigration quotas, and civil rights activism. Useful for its focus on the hard question of who should be allowed into the US, the book is obviously designed to be open-ended and will find its best use as a classroom discussion-starter; unaided readers may be confused by the disjointed text. The format ``looks young,'' but concepts and reading level are geared to older children. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 8-12)