Letters from Rifka - Books on Immigration
- Bresnick-Perry, Roslyn. Leaving for America.
Children's Book Press, 1992.
- A funny, tender portrayal of life in a Russian Jewish community in the 1920's,
as seen through the eyes of a seven year old girl who is leaving with her
mother to start a new life in America. A wonderful example of storytelling
to preserve the memory of a family's history.
- Freeman, Russell. Immigrant Kids.
Dutton, 1980.
- Photographs of the children of poor European immigrants to America 100 years
ago are featured in this book. The children are shown attending school, working
at various jobs, and playing. Photos of life in immigration ships are included.
- Harvey, Brett. Immigrant Girl: Becky of Eldridge
Street. Holiday, 1987.
- Superb drawings combined with sensitive, fine writing make this story of
Russian Immigrants living in New York City in 1910 a valuable addition to
our natonal identity. The book is based on the diary of a young girl.
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- Hest, Amy. When Jessie Came
Across the Sea. Candlewick Press, 1997.
- A thirteen-year old Jewish girl from an Eastern European country is given
a ticket to America by the rabbi, so she reluctantly leaves her grandmother
and emigrates to New York City. There Jessie works for three years sewing
lace and earning money to bring Grandmother to the United States too.
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- Jacobs, William Jay. Ellis Island: New Hope
in a New Land. Scribner, 1990.
- Authentic black-and-white photographs illustrate this easy-to-read account
of this famous entry point to America.
- Kurelek, William. They Sought a New World.
Tundra Books, 1985.
- Kurelek wanted to paint the history of every immigrant group to North America.
An immigrant himself from the Ukraine, he knew what it took to be an immigrant
and dedicated himself to recording it.
- Lawlor, Veronica (ed.). I Was Dreaming to Come
to America. Viking, 1995.
- A collection of short memoirs that were collected by the Ellis Island Oral
History Project which began in 1973. The author, who selected these memoirs
from the Ellis Island archives, also created the illustrations.
- Levitin, Sonia. Journey to America.
Macmillan, 1986.
- This story of a young Jewish girl who comes to America from Adolph Hitler's
Germany to meet her father offers a picture of the world being turned upside
down. How people show kindness or cruelty to the refugees is part of the story.
- Sandler, Martin W. Immigrants: A Library of
Congress Book. HarperCollins Publishers, 1995.
- Using pictures and print materials from the Library of Congress, the author
tells the story of immigration through Ellis Island in the late 1800s. Text
is easily accessible for middle school readers and enables them to visualize
what life was like at this time in our history. These same pictures are also
available at the American Memory
Home Page.
- Siegel, Beatrice. Sam Ellis's Island.
Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.
- In a sprightly, informative style, Beatrice Siegel tells the history of
the island that became known worldwide as a symbol of hope. This narrative
covers the events over a period of 200 years.
- Wells, Rosemary.Streets of Gold. Dial
Books for Young Readers, N.Y., 1999.
- Wonderfully illustrated book that chronicles the journey of a young Jewish
girl who hungered to learn. But in Russia it was forbidden for Jewish girls
to have an education. As an adult, she wrote The Promised Land, describing
her experiences as an immigrant.
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- Woodruff, Elvira. The Orphan of Ellis Island.
Scholastic Press, 1997.
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