An Ellis Island Christmas
by Maxinne Rhea Leighton (Author) Dennis Nolan (Illustrator)
A moving story about one family's daring journey from Poland to America and their hope for a better future in their new home. Available again in paperback.
Krysia does not want to leave her home and her friend, Michi, but there are soldiers with guns on the streets and her mother says that they must go. Krysia, her two brothers, and her mother pack their favorite belongings and begin the long, harrowing journey to America. Krysia is scared but she finds courage when she thinks of her father waiting for her in America with the promise of a better tomorrow.
Inspired by Maxinne Rhea Leighton's father's journey from Poland to America, this is a powerful reminder of the beacon of hope and opportunity that Ellis Island symbolized and the importance of family at Christmastime.
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Kirkus
A first-time author re-creates her father's experience of coming to America early in this century with his family. Krysia, the youngest child, describes a typical but uneventful journey, going through immigration, then being met on Christmas Eve by Papa, who's already established a home. Unfortunately—despite a nice moment when Mama gives Krysia a beloved doll as a Christmas gift—the straightforward, rather choppy account never quite comes to life. Still, authentic details plus Nolan's misty, rather somber paintings capture the period—especially the Ellis Island site—with grace and care. (Young reader/Picture book. 5- 9)
Copyright 1992 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission
Polish Americans
Christmas
Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.
