Reviews

Gr 2-4‘This narrative of 13-year-old Jessie's journey from a poor village in Eastern Europe to New York City at the turn of the century affords readers a panoramic view of events and people. The author's exploration of a variety of emotions and feelings provides modern youngsters with a sense of connections with times long past. There is the familial devotion between Jessie and her grandmother, whom she has to leave behind. A shipboard friendship with Lou, a young shoemaker, helps Jessie survive the hardships and uncertainties of the ocean crossing. Her skill as a lacemaker, painstakingly learned from her grandmother, insures her success in the dressmaker's shop where she goes to work. Her romance with Lou is rekindled when they meet years later on a wintry day in Central Park. Jessie's reunion with her grandmother, whose ticket she has purchased with money saved during years of hard work, is the poignant conclusion to this tale. Lynch's luminous watercolor and gouache illustrations capture the characters' feelings, at the same time recording the storms at sea and teeming streets of the Lower East Side. The two young people's spirit of hope and optimism, created by the straightforward text, is enhanced by these pictures, as they provide a visual record of difficulties encountered by the scores of immigrants who reached these shores. This book will be particularly useful for units on immigration and family histories, used in conjunction with Allen Say's Grandfather's Journey (Houghton, 1993) or Jeanette Winter's Klara's New World (Knopf, 1992; o.p.).‘Martha Rosen, Edgewood School, Scarsdale, NY

With this tale of a 13-year-old girl's journey from a shtetl in Eastern Europe to America, Hest (Love You, Soldier) simply and faithfully holds a mirror to the milestone event for millions of turn-of-the-century immigrants. The graceful sentiment with which she conveys her story, however, renders the familiar plot newly gratifying. When the village rabbi gives Jessie a ticket to America, she dreads leaving the grandmother who has raised her since the death of her parents. But she bravely makes the voyage, and sews lace diligently for three years in New York until she saves enough money to send for her grandmother. Along the way she develops a talent for sewing bridal gowns, and before she takes leave of the reader, she becomes a bride herself. The elements of the plot fall neatly into place, and Hest communicates the heroine's courage and maturity convincingly and without fanfare. The subtle, emotional exposition is enriched by Lynch's (The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey) dramatically charged watercolor and gouache illustrations. The candlelit and sunlit compositions express the yearnings of the immigrants; their faces form a study in hope, loss and dignity. A compassionate, heartening view of an archetypal American experience. Ages 6-12. (Nov.)