How My Family Lives in America

Book excerpt: In How My Family Lives in America, author-photographer Susan Kuklin zeroes in on the source of cultural identity: the family. Meet: Sanu, who is learning how to braid her hair and to cook the same African meal her father makes. Eric, who loves to play baseball with his dad and to dance the merengue with his friends and family. April, who works hard on her Chinese writing and tries to keep up with her family's challenging games. Their stories emphasize the seemingly minor and everyday ways heritage is transmitted: stories, songs, games, language, special occasions. They show the importance of choice and adaptation in forging a cultural identity. And they provoke readers to examine their own families -- what makes them the same, what makes them distinct, and how this uniqueness is celebrated.