Product Description

Becky, whose family has emigrated from Russia to avoid being persecuted as Jews, finds growing up in New York City in 1910 a vivid and exciting experience.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1086652 in Books
• Published on: 1987-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Library Binding
• 40 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Becky Moskowitz comes from Russia with her family in 1910 to live on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They have a grocery store and live upstairs in the same building. Becky mentions that they play in the middle of the street, that they draw pictures, and when a wagon drives over the drawings they all shout "Get off Becky's pictures." Harvey depicts this I Remember Mama world of Jewish immigrants with nostalgic flavor and vigorous remembrances. Becky recalls that her papa "tells stories and argues with the customers about politics" and that when they take their weekly bath the water is "warm and bubbly instead of gray and cold the way it is at the end." The attached glossary adds to the coziness of that sheltered worldwords for Grandma, pudding, ritual holidaysexcept for one alarming word, "pogrom." Ray's black-and-white, statuesque figures add to the cordial mood of the book. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4 Ten-year-old Becky Mosco witz has come from rural Russia to live in the noisy, crowded Lower East Side of New York City in 1910. She has settled into a three room flat with her Mama, Papa, two brothers, one sister, grandmother, aunt, and a boarder. She has many new experienceslearning the English language at school, playing street games, going to the Nickelodeon, shopping at the market on Hester Street, visiting a library. In addition to providing a delightful ``slice of life'' book about turn-of-the-century Jewish immigration, Harvey and Ray also provide young audiences with a bit of historical information about pogroms, sweatshops, and Jewish religious traditions. A glossary of unfamiliar terms further enhances the book's utility. Numerous soft black-and-white drawings combine perfectly with the well characterized text to yield a warm, interesting glimpse of the pastone not often available to readers of this age group. Barbara Webber, Gordon-Barbour Elementary School, Gordonsville, Va.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A true-to-the-time book
In Brett Harvey's Immigrant Girl: Becky of Eldridge Street, we see the plight of those who immigrated to America at the beginning of the 20th century. Becky has moved to New York City with her family from Russia to escape the pogroms that were carried out against Jewish people. Becky's simple story of her new and exciting life in America provides an enjoyable read that is true to its time.