Tarik

University Laboratory High School 1212 W. Springfield Ave. Urbana, IL 61820 9/29/08 Marc Aronson Author Atheneum Books for Young Readers 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

Dear Mr. Aronson

Before I read your book __Race,__ I thought racism only existed towards blacks, and their hardships throughout slavery. Through elementary school and middle school my class focused on the civil war and the abolishment of slavery when discussing the topic of race. Your book gives me a new perspective on race and where it originated.

You gave lots of great examples of racism in America and in parts of Europe. My question to you is why you have an egg on the front cover of your book? Your book was not the typical non-fiction book which just gives the facts. My favorite story was the one of your mother coming to America fleeing Germany before World War II. It reminded me of when my parents came to America carrying me. In 1995 Sarajevo, Bosnia was under siege and my family had to come to America so that our lives were not in danger.

I believe what you said about Germans on page 209 was too cruel in my opinion. It is hard to forgive, after such cruelty and the mass killings of the Jews in the concentration camps. However I believe people can change and become understanding. In America, racism seems to have declined now that an African American may become president, but racism still appears and we have to live with that. What do African Americans and other minority overcome today in the United States? The other part of your book that I thought did not give too much detail was the last chapter. I thought you ended your book too abruptly. Much of the prejudice that happened between 1775-1965 still lives today in America, but much of it was not mentioned in the last chapter. I wanted to learn more about what struggles African Americans and other non whites today face to have equal rights.

Thank you for reading my letter and coming to our school, I really enjoyed reading your book.

Sincerely,

Tarik Koric