Ellis Island

American Symbols

by Lori Mortensen, Matthew Skeens (Illustrator), Melissa Kes (Contribution by)

During the late 1800s, 1.5 million immigrants were processed at Ellis Island in New York. Find out the history of the immigration station and what immigrants had to go through before entering the United States. You'll soon discover why Ellis Island is considered to be a symbol of freedom and the ""American Dream.

24 pages, Library Binding

First published July 15, 2008

About the author

Lori Mortensen is an award-winning children's author of more than 100 books. Her books, which reviewers have praised as “stellar” “as good as it gets” and “begs to be read aloud,” have been published by such notable publishers as HarperCollins, Henry Holt, Abrams, Bloomsbury, and Peachtree. Popular releases include, Arlo Draws an Octopus, illustrated by NYT bestselling author/illustrator Rob Sayegh, Jr., If Wendell Had a Walrus, illustrated by NYT bestselling author/illustrator Matt Phelan, Cowpoke Clyde Rides the Range, a Bill Martin Jr., Picture Book Award Nominee and the sequel to Amazon bestseller Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg, and picture book biographies Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey and Away with Words, the Daring True Story of Explorer Isabella Bird.
When she’s not greeting geese at the lake, or putting her nose in a mystery, she’s tapping away at her keyboard, conjuring, coaxing, and prodding her latest stories to life. Today, she lives in the foothills of Northern California with her family and all birds that flock to her feeder—including a gluttonous squirrel.

Reviews

[Lindsay]

A lovely, simple explanation of European immigration to the United States. Not political, preachy, jingoistic or overly sentimental. Given the current global outrage over Trump's executive order, this book is perfect for helping preschool-2nd grade children understand what immigration and immigrants are.

[Karen]

Of all the picture books I read to the kids about Ellis Island, this one was our favorite.