In Your Own Backyard

Every United States coin carries the phrase, E PLURIBUS UNUM. It means "From many, one"—from many countries, from many backgrounds, from many religions, one nation.

In colonial times settlers poured into the new world from many parts of Europe. After the Revolutionary War, when the United States was formed, more and more people found homes in America. They came from many lands; they followed a variety of religions, they spoke in different languages. Together they tamed a wilderness, built cities, and worked to create a strong and free United States.

America is proud of her people. There are Polish Americans and Puerto Rican Americans; Jewish and Amish Americans; Americans who are brown, others who are white; Americans who are city dwellers, others who live on farms. As individuals, they think and speak, worship and work in their own ways. But as Americans, they are alike in their belief in freedom, in their willingness to help their country, in their respect for the laws of the land.

IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD is a potpourri, a mixture of Americans. It tells stories of young people growing up in the America of yesterday traveling through the wilderness in covered wagons, pioneering on the plains. It tells stories of young people living in America today running a paper route, waiting for a new puppy, being a stranger in a new school. IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD tells the story of a democracy through the lives of boys and girls in many parts of the United States.

MARIAN C.YOUNG
Chief, Children's Services,
Detroit Public Library

From the book