A Paradise Called Texas
Illustrator: Tom Shefelman, Karl Shefelman, and Dan Shefelman
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
Grade Level: 4th-7th
A Paradise Called Texas is about a German family as they leave their home in Germany to head to Texas in hopes of creating a better life for themselves.The embark on this difficult journey when Mina is just a young girl. Mina and her parents are joined by the Kaufmann family. When the two families leave their hometown of Wehrstedt, they have no idea of the obstacles that they will soon be face to face with. When their ship reaches Texas, Mina desperately wants to go back to Germany. Soon after the families land in Texas, Mama gets sick and unexpectedly passes away. Mina and Papa must keep going. When the two families reach the Texas hill country, Papa gets sick and Mina is forced to make friends with Amaya, who ends up saving her father’s life. Papa begins to build a house for the two of them. Papa meets a woman named Lisette and the two decide to get married. Mina is overjoyed at his news and cannot wait for their family to be whole again.
This is a story based on the author’s family immigrating from Germany. This book could be used to teach students about the hardships that their ancestors could have had to face in order for them to have the life they have now. This book could also be used as a tool to give students insight on the foundation of Texas.
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