Thanks for the opportunity to review this children’s book. It is a bit longer than I’d usually expect a book like this to be, and that’s not a bad thing! It is about a young girl and her mother’s experiences as immigrants to the US, with the bulk being the child’s thoughts and feelings. The illustrations give me that hand drawn art vibe, which actually sort of make this story a lot more intimate — kinda reminds me of a kid drawing (even though they are VERY nice illustrations), it just has that sort of intimate vibe as if it’s a child recollections and drawings to match. Either way, this book doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of immigration. It operates on an appropriate level for young readers, meaning it’s more about the empathy factor than tackling overarching complicated issues over the heads of children’s understanding. They can totally understand frustration or isolation, not feeling comfortable in settings, etc. Thus, this book is good for any reader not just those with similar experiences

Starting Over in Sunset Park is a beautifully illustrated and written book that teaches children about immigration. It is written in a way that makes it easy to understand the basic concept of immigration and that it’s not easy to make it in America but it is doable. I think this would be a great book to introduce children to the subject of immigration and culture. This book would be perfect to read in a story time or classroom setting. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! (This review is also on GoodReads.)