God Bless America: The Story of an Immigrant Named Irving Berlin by Adah Nuchi, illustrated by Rob Polivka. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION. Hyperion (Disney), 2018. $19. 9781368015769
BUYING ADVISORY: EL – OPTIONAL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
In a bustling immigrant neighborhood of New York City in the 1890s, young Irving, born Israel “Izzy” Baline, hustled the evening news with a song. He always had a song, whether the “zim-a-lay-quiver, weep, call, waver prayers” of his Jewish forefathers in Russian or the “thump-two-three, ting-a-ling, whee song” of the crowded American streets around him. He wrote and presented a musical for the soldiers of World War I, and when a second world war looked likely, Irving polished off a song he had written 20 years earlier, which became an inspiring classic around the country. He donated all the royalties from God Bless America to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. Before his death at age 101, Irving had written over 1500 songs.
The color pencil drawings illustrating this biography give the book an old-fashioned look that may be off-putting to an elementary school audience. I even found a couple of the illustrations at the beginning somewhat confusing. Additionally, most elementary kids will not know the music of Irving Berlin, but students in middle and high schools may, especially if their school has a musical drama program. Annie Get Your Gun is a staple for high school musicals. Use this book to introduce students of all ages to this talented composer, an immigrant, who helped shape our country's identity through the two world wars with his talent and service. The story is fleshed out more with an Author’s Note at the end. You will also find a timeline, a list of Berlin’s most famous songs, and selected sources.
P. K. Foster, teacher-librarian
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