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American Playground

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Description

It’s 1971, and 7-year-old Mishel Manoucherian’s family has packed up their life in Tehran and moved to Los Angeles, launching him headfirst into a disorienting new world of social and schoolyard expectations. At once a witty and warm exploration of the immigrant journey and coming of age tale, American Playground illuminates the Iranian American experience through a child’s unique perspective. Armed with a handful of English words, a fiery mother who uses her biting wit to open doors and inspire fear while shunning all things Amrikayi, and an adventurous dad who clumsily chases the Amrikayi Dream, Mishel tries to crack the code of schoolyard politics that feels equal parts Brady Bunch and Lord of the Flies. His brown skin gets him thrown in with the school’s outcasts, but Mishel wants to run with the Pros – longhaired kids who rule the blacktop in faded Levi’s and Pro Keds, radiating the casual yet rugged essence of 70’s California Cool. Desperate for a mentor to unravel this dizzying American life, Mishel recruits Bugs Bunny, the only Amrikayi he trusts. Mishel will do whatever it takes to become Amrikayi. He’ll have to do it on the only true Amrikayi turf - the playground. Full of heart, humor and insight, American Playground explores the tensions between assimilation and identity, a child's desperation to pass as one of many, and the age-old conflict between Bugs Bunny and everyone who’s out to “kill the wabbit.” Bringing a fresh perspective to classic genres, Shokrian’s writing recalls the honesty and ferocity of classic Los Angeles writers Fante and Bukowski, with a modern immigrant’s twist. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ the Thieving Magpie


Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more


Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 2, 2025


Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st


Language ‏ : ‎ English


File size ‏ : ‎ 4.5 MB


Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported


Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled


X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Playful, illuminating, and self-reflective
Format: Paperback
American Playground is an evocative read, at times laugh out loud, at times poignant. Reading about an immigrant family's experience acclimating to life in America, all through the lens of a child, is humbling and eye opening. And yet, the struggle to desperately want to fit in is relatable to everyone, even if you are not an immigrant. American Playground makes the reader reflect on their own experiences at the age of the narrator, their own melancholies, embarassments, shames, and desires as a kid. Throughout the story, Michael Shokrian's playful use of language as understood by a child newly learning English is clever and fun and makes one think of their own silly misunderstandings when learning a language, as well as how you thought and talked as a kid. Michael's writes dynamically, keeping the reader on their toes. His beautiful detailed descriptions of everyday life in 1970s LA are the backdrop to the narrators daily struggles. Within this, Michael sprinkles in philosophical musings that I found myself thinking about over and over. American Playground is an excellent read. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2025 by Nurse Nancy
    • A wonderful warm immigrant story.
Format: Paperback
American Playground by Michael Shokrian is a funny, heartfelt story about a young boy named Mishel who moves from Tehran to Los Angeles in the early ’70s and has to figure out how to fit in. Through his eyes, we see the ups and downs of growing up between two cultures — the awkward moments, the small victories, and the lessons learned on the school playground. Shokrian’s writing feels honest and warm, with just the right mix of humor and heart. It’s a touching, relatable read about identity, family, and finding your place in a new world. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2025 by Teddy
    • The Childhood We All Remember, Perfectly Captured
Format: Paperback
"American Playground" is a must-read time machine you never want to leave. Michael Isaac Shokrian capture the 70s in all its glory—from banana-seat bike tricks to schoolyard bullies, sack lunches with Hostess Pies, rainy-day rounds of ‘Thumbs-Up 7-Up,’ dads in sweatbands, moms rocking mini-skirts, and the unforgettable TV characters who helped raise us, like Bugs Bunny and Andy Griffith. Through the eyes of a family newly arrived from Iran, Michael nails the struggles every kid knows: peer pressure, popularity politics, testing boundaries, and the love-hate dance with siblings. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and every page hit home. Funny, heartfelt, and brimming with truth—this book proves childhood connects us all! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2025 by Anna Song & Matt Hurewitz
    • A Vivid, Unforgettable and Relatable Coming-of-Age Story
Format: Paperback
American Playground is a beautifully told story of a young boy (Mishel) moving to Los Angeles with his family from Iran in early 1970’s. The tale starts when Mishel arrives at a new school in second grade and tries to make sense of who he is in this new territory while his family does the same. You root for Mishel throughout the entire book and can relate to him whether or not you have immigrated to the US. It’s a coming-of-age tale of trying to fit in, making questionable decisions and having to live with the outcome. Bugs Bunny as Mishel’s conscience, the use of music lyrics and TV shows in addition to the rich characters are layers weaved into the storytelling. Michael Isaac Shokrian (the author) really grounds you into Mishel's universe so vividly, you feel with all of your senses. So many laugh-out-loud moments, followed by poignant consequences. It made me reflect on my elementary school days and how I survived “the playground” and how those experiences have shaped my adulthood. It’s a fast read and both adults and teens will connect with this book. We are reading it in our bookclub and I can’t wait for the discussion — it’s the kind of story that stays with you long after you finish. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2025 by GS
    • A funny book about a young immigrant coming of age in the 1970s
Format: Kindle
Funny and insightful, the book details a young Iranian immigrant’s introduction to 1970s American culture (food, pop music, television!) and his attempt to find his place in it. Like most of us, he makes friends and enemies, has his journey complicated by his parents, but mostly just wants to fit in with the popular kids, even when they are not accepting or even tolerant of our young hero. Unlike most of us however, he has to make his way through these difficult years while also trying to learn English and become American while living in a traditional Persian-Jewish household. There are so many universal experiences we all have growing up that most of us will recognize something of our young selves as we follow Mishel through his grade school years. Thus, while Shokrian’s backgound gives him the unique perspective to tell the Persian-immigrant story, and I assume many of the events in the book reflect the author’s experiences (which are certainly different from my own), the book is full of the shared experiences of all the newly arrived in a strange school or a strange land, which gives broader resonance. I think maybe most fun is that the story captures a young boy’s coming of age in a certain period -- the 1970s -- as Russell Baker does with the depression in “Growing Up,” and Tobias Wolfe does with the 1950s in “This Boy’s Life,” the books this most reminded me of. Shokrian ties the story to period and place through details small and large, which help give the story real life. Shokrian writes well and recognizes what works in the telling (he’s been the publisher of The Thieving Magpie literary journal for several years), including an on-going conversation between Mishel and Bugs Bunny, who emerges as Mishel’s “Amrikayi” guide and conscience (the rule breaker Bugs is often an ill-advised choice for a conscience, which adds a layer of humor whenever he offers advice). Mishel doesn’t reach the end of his grade school years unscathed (do any of us?), but by the end he’s developed the confidence and the ability to navigate life in his new home. Which I guess is the goal of any immigrant or emerging adult. Predominantly a comic look at the absurdity of Mishel’s situation (his life is literally in Iran one day, and in Los Angeles the next), American Playground is worth reading just for the humor, but fortunately has much more to offer than that. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2025 by KW
    • A whimsical non fiction novel of the immigrant experience in Southern California
Format: Paperback
Fantastic book! The author bears his soul in a funny, sad yet charming halcyon reflection of growing up as an immigrant child and outsider in Southern California of the early 70’s. On one this is an expose of the immigrant experience. On the other hand it’s a story that almost anyone can relate too on a very human level, touching upon the alienated feelings of being an outsider trying desperately to fit and not stand out from the crowd. The writer prose is both poetic but easy to read. I highly recommend this for anyone and all ages. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2025 by Jeff Jones
    • An eye-opener -- An Immigrant's Real Education in the 1970s
Format: Paperback
This is a well-written debut novel that tells the story of an Iranian immigrant -- a young boy -- to Southern California in the first half of the 1970s. The book focuses on the boy's story as he tries fruitlessly to fit in to the elementary and middle school in crowd, while lurking in the background are family events of great significance. Written in a charged, first-person style, the book is filled with vignettes, funny and sad and, at times, painful to read about. I recommend it highly to anyone who wants to learn how things really can be for school-age children who come to the United States, whether in the 1970s or today. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2025 by Jonathan Singer
    • A Delightfully Eye-Opening Romp with Mishel
Format: Paperback
A really delightful and humorously tender read, following Mishel Manoucherian and his family from a 1970s Tehran playground to a 1970s West Los Angeles playground. The immigrant experience told through the eyes of a 3rd grader encountering American culture in his school opens the heart of the reader and exposes the courage and grit it takes to learn fit in in one's new whereabouts and in time, ultimately, to assimilate. It's especially interesting to learn about the early Persian Jewish community in Los Angeles through the lens of Mishel's interfaith mishaps, for instance after tasting a BLT sandwich and longing to atone at Yom Kippur, which cannot come soon enough! Highly recommended with 5 ✨ ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2025 by Robert A. Williams

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