Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America) [Hardcover]

Kathryn Lasky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1998 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Dear America

In a vibrant and colorful portrait of a Jewish family, this is the diary of a Russian immigrant girl who begins a new life on the Lower East Side of New York City.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-8--Zipporah Feldman, a 12-year-old Jewish immigrant from Russia, uses diary entries to chronicle her family's activities as they acclimate to life on New York City's Lower East Side. The hopes and dreams of a young girl are beautifully portrayed through Lasky's eloquent and engaging narrative. Readers are quickly drawn into Zipporah's world of traditional Jewish ritual and celebrations and will identify with the girl's desires to aspire to greatness in her new home. She absorbs the freedom of America, wanting to share her enthusiasm with her parents, encouraging her father to pursue his love of music and trying to persuade her mother to shed some of her strict religious ways. The story's historical significance is evident in the Feldman's arrival at Ellis Island and the subsequent procedures immigrants had to endure, and in the description of the factory fire in which Zipporah's friend dies, which is based on the famous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory of 1911. Characters are portrayed as strong individuals, and their motives are believable. Readers learn in an epilogue that Zipporah pursued her love for the theater and eventually rose to stardom. Archival photos, accompanied by a recipe for hamantaschen and the traditional Jewish song to welcome the Sabbath, bring the reality of the novel to light. A story of hope and of love for one's country.

Janet Gillen, Great Neck Public Library, NY

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590029738
• ISBN-13: 978-0590029735
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Readers! Thanks for coming by my author page. I've written all sorts of books - from fantasy about animals to books about science. One of my favorite animal fantasy series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, is a major motion picture. I liked writing about Ga'Hoole so much that I decided to revisit that world in a new series, Wolves of the Beyond. Visit my website, www.kathrynlasky.com to see a slide show about the real wolves I researched for the series and for the latest update on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie. All my best, Kathryn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was another great Dear America book!, February 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America) (Hardcover)

Dreams in the Golden Country was another great Dear America book. It is the diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish immigrant girl from Russia, in which she describes her family's first year and a half living on New York City's Lower East Side. Zipporah, or Zippy as she is called, dreams of being an actress in New York's Yiddish theater, and is overjoyed when she is given a job as a prop gir. But her newfound joy is overshadowed by the death of her baby brother when he is just a few days old. To make matters worse for her mother, Zippy's older sister, Miriam, recently ran off to marry a non-Jewish Irish boy, and her sister, Tovah, believes in women's rights and has organized a union, both of which Mrs. Feldman dissaproves of. Plus, one of Zippy's friends dies in a factory fire. Can Zippy really make a new life for herself in this so-called "golden country" that isn't so golden after all?

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, February 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America) (Hardcover)

Zipporah is another excellent Dear America book. Zippy, 12 years old, has just arrived at Ellis Island from Russia, where the pogroms (attacks on the Jews) chased them away. Traveling with her mother, her sisters, Miriam (15), and Tovah (17) her family goes to meet her Father who has been in America for 2 years. There they find a small tenement room. Everyone is disapointed. Zippy's mother is worried about her father loosing his Jewish faith. Zippy gets put in an early grade because she isn't very talented in English, but she moves up. Zippy learns about things and writes letters to the famous Marie Curie and Wright Brothers (never gets a reply back). Then she sees the theater and knows acting will forever control her destiny. Filled with hardships and triumphs, Zippy's diary is one of the best. It really isn't very exciting with a lot of stuff happening, but the emotional factor is so great and really makes me think. I was also happy that Zippy had the same birthday as me.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great "Dear America" novel, September 18, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 (Dear America) (Hardcover)

Dreams in the Golden Country is written as a diary of a 12 year old Jewish immigrant girl, Zippy. Zippy, her mother, her sister Miriam, and her sister Tovah have just come to join her father in New York City, where they live in a tenement house.

Throughout the 18 months that this book covers, you see how Zippy's dreams change in this not always golden country. She wants to learn English so she can reach her grade in school, and she wants to be in the Yiddish theater. She also handles her feuding family. But when tragedy strikes, she must overcome her sadness and continue her dreams.

This was a great book, and I'd recommend it for ages 10 - 14. I'd also recommend So Far from Home, and A Coal Miner's Bride, 2 other Dear America books.