In English, of Course

Set in the Bronx during the 1950s, when postwar immigrant children were placed in their first American classrooms, this delightful story tells of the riotous linguistic misunderstandings of Josephine’s first day of school. The daughter of savvy Italian engineers, Josephine has lived in the city long enough to have learned a few words in English, but is overcome when her teacher makes her stand up in front of the class and tell about her life in Italy—in English, of course. The result is a charming tale of adventures and multicultural miscommunications as Josephine attempts to make herself understood. Children will come to understand that sometimes people underestimate the talent and dignity of newcomers to the United States and will embark on a poignant journey as Josephine tells her incredible story the best way she knows how and attempts to understand her English-speaking teacher and classmates.

Mary Quattlebaum - Children's Literature

Josephine, a recent immigrant from Italy, meets her first-day challenges with aplomb in In English, Of Course. Author Josephine Nobisso draws upon her own childhood in the Bronx's Little Italy to create this witty tale of linguistic misunderstanding in a 1950's multicultural classroom. Though Josephine is a cosmopolitan girl, her teacher assumes, a bit condescendingly, that she was raised on a farm. So in broken English and with expressive gestures, Josephine relays a hilarious story of her one visit to the country. By the end, teacher and pupil have newfound respect for one another. The final pages reveal Josephine planning her next story—all about her magnificent home city, Naples, and her architectural engineer parents. Josephine, with her can-do attitude, offers young readers (native-born and newcomers alike) a feisty, smart model of the immigrant child. Dasha Ziborova's jazzy collages reinforce this image. 2002, Gingerbread House, Ages 4 to 9.