Fiona's Lace

Fiona's Lace | Historical Fiction | Patricia Polacco | ILA Teachers' Choices; CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book | 4-8 |

An Irish family in need of a new life after a company closes in their homeland must find a new way of living. Their neighbor mentions she has signed a contract with an American family to work for them in Chicago. Fiona's mom decides to do the same and they immigrate to the United States to find work. When they arrive, they realize that life here was not the luxurious lifestyle they were expecting. Instead, to make life work, they must find other jobs to sustain their family. This is when Fiona's incredible lacing skills benefit the family. People are paying good money for her lace and now Fiona and her family can live good. One day, a fire grows in their area and the two sisters escape and are separated from their parents. Fiona must ruin her lace to leave bits of it behind so her parents can find them. Soon enough, her parents come to where the lace ends and find their daughters.

I really enjoyed this book it talks about immigration from a different point of view. In the southern area of America, most immigrants are from Central America. In this book, it is an Irish family who immigrates for a better life to the United States. In the class preschool to third grade, you can talk about the the lifestyle in different countries and note how desperate times require dramatic actions to survive. Student can learn about the Irish culture, considering nowt many students have been able to ravel. This book informs us of the challenges immigrants face and a bit of the Irish culture. It's a sweet story of a family and how unity can bring them happiness, even in challenging times. I'd use this book in the classroom to discuss this important topic and follow with an activity of lace, or a simple discussion of the Irish culture and the meaning of immigration and why people do this.