SILVER AT NIGHT

Bartoletti (Study Skills Workout, not reviewed) tells of Massimino, who works for the landlord of his Italian village and wants a better life. He leaves his home and his sweetheart, Perina, and goes across the sea to America. When he gets there he works in a coal mine and saves up money until he finally has enough to send for her. When Perina arrives, Massimino says, ``At last we are together.... Now we are rich indeed.'' But wait a minute. Weren't they together in Italy? Why did they both make the arduous journey to an American mining town if the goal was togetherness? This is only one of the questions that bugs the reader in this confusing tale of immigrant life. It is also difficult to understand how Massimino's lot improves when he reaches America. True, he earns money. But the coal mine is hardly an ideal place. And though he claims that he will soon have enough to buy a piece of land of his own, the reader never sees this happen—and anyone who's heard of the company store is bound to be suspicious of his optimism. A fuzzy look at immigrant hardship. (Fiction/Picture book. 5-9)