Jessie is an orphaned 13-year-old girl living with her grandmother in a small, poor Jewish village, probably somewhere in Eastern Europe. Of all the villagers, the rabbi chooses Jessie to use a passage ticket to America that was sent to him from a family member. Jessie is to go help one of the rabbi's widowed family members in her dress shop in New York City.
The book follows Jessie at every point in her journey, from the sad goodbyes with her grandmother, to the interactions with other immigrants on board, to the questionings at Ellis Island. It touches on Jessie's work in the dress shop, and through letters sent home to grandmother, we are given some insight into some of Jessie's thoughts about living in the big city.
I love this book because it touches on SO many experiences and issues that were involved for immigrants who came to America in the late 19th/early 20th century:
- The positive perception of America to poor Europeans and the value of a passage ticket: Before the rabbi chooses Jessie, many other villagers plead with him for the ticket and talk of America as "the promised land."
- The emotional torment of the ones who stayed behind, in this case the grandmother - knowing that leaving the village was the only way to improve her granddaughter's life, but realizing that it would still break her heart to see her go.
- The poor weather, crowded living conditions, and short tempers on the ship, but also the comradery that developed between passengers.
- The experience of going through Ellis Island: the inspections, questions, and waiting, waiting, waiting.
- The culture shock of going from a small agriculture village to a large industrial city.
- The joys of finding success in America that they never would have found back in their native land.
- The difficulty in learning English.
- Saving enough money to buy a passage ticket for a loved one who is still back in Europe.
- The importance and meaning of family heirlooms, in this case, Jessie's deceased mother's wedding ring.
This book is probably best for ages six and up; the story is longer and more detailed than books for younger children. (I tried to read it to my 3 1/2 year old, but we only made it about 3/4 through until she became bored.) For older children, you could even read the book to them in parts and talk about each of the issues stated above in more detail before moving on to the next event in Jessie's life.
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder. All rights reserved.