By
– January 10, 2012
This book is about the migration of the Jewish people using four people as illustrations, telling why, where, and how they migrated from one place to another when they were children. The first story is that of Golda Meir, who migrated from Russia to the United States and then to Israel in the early 1900’s. The next two stories tell of children who fled from the Nazis in Germany and Austria in 1938 and 1939. The final story is that of a girl who left Russia in 2000 to go to school in Israel. The book is visually pleasing and easy to read. The illustrations and photographs help bring the book to life and show how people lived and looked during the times that are described. The maps help to show the routes and distances that the people traveled. Anti-Semitism is explained in the introductory portion and Israel as the Jewish homeland is described near the end of the book. I read the book with my daughter who is in fourth grade and she understood it and was interested in the maps. She learned a lot from it but was a bit confused about why there is a photograph of a girl next to the bio of Kurt Fuchel on page 19. I was surprised that there is not a description of the Jewish religion in the book other than a sentence that says, “Being Jewish has more to do with culture (a person’s values and beliefs) than where they are from.” There is no reference to what those values and beliefs are. Recommended for children ages 8 – 10.
Dana Bjornstad is a mother of three and a teacher. She taught middle school for 13 years — reading, social studies, science and art. She currently substitute teaches all grade levels and subjects.