Immigrant Girl: Becky of Eldridge Street [Library Binding]

Brett Harvey (Author), Deborah Kogan Ray (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1987 | Age Level: 7 and up

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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Library Binding: 40 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (March 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823406385
• ISBN-13: 978-0823406388
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,370,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true-to-the-time book, May 7, 2001

By 

Melissa (Winston-Salem, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Immigrant Girl: Becky of Eldridge Street (Library Binding)

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.