- first-person story of a Russian Jewish girl whose family immigrated to the USA because of persecution
- she is bullied a lot as school (and the teacher is oblivious or weakly non-confrontational)
- the class learns a lesson about how there are modern pilgrims, seeking freedom
Type: picture book
Ages: 6-10
Author: Barbara Cohen
Illustrator: Jennifer Bricking
The idea for this book is brilliant: broadening children’s views of the world, understanding different cultures, painting a negative picture of bullying, and so on. However, it fell flat with us. The “lesson” the class learns toward the end seemed too short and we found ourselves wanting more of a resolution. But such is life, eh?
We still let our kids read it. I give it 3 stars “It was okay.”