The Memory Coat [Hardcover]

Elvira Woodruff (Author), Michael Dooling (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

In the early 1900s, two cousins leave their Russian shtetl with the rest of their family to come to America, hopeful that they will all pass the dreaded inspection at Ellis Island.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An immigrant boy's tattered woolen coat helps secure his entrance to America in this thoughtful picture book. Grisha, whose parents have died, now lives with his cousin Rachel's boisterous family in a Russian shtetl. Grisha misses his parents terribly, though he finds comfort in playing storytelling games with Rachel ("they were the best of friends") and in wearing the now-ragged coat sewn by his mother. But after cossacks terrorize the Jews of the shtetl, Rachel's family flees to America. At Ellis Island an inspector notes a scratch on Grisha's eye and marks his coat, indicating that he is rejected. Luckily, quick-thinking Rachel turns Grisha's coat inside out, allowing him to pass with the rest of the family. Woodruff (The Orphan of Ellis Island) steeps her tale in history, and at times the abundance of scene-setting detail bogs down the story's pacing. Dooling's (Mary McLean and the St. Patrick's Day Parade) evocative oil paintings range from low-contrast two-color portraits to full-color scenes; many exude great warmth. A black-and-white spread depicting a huddled band of people, with anxious, strained faces, is particularly memorable. Endnotes supply facts about the plight of Russian Jews in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the mechanics of immigration and the role of Ellis Island. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A moving story of a family emigrating to the United States from Russia at the turn of the century. To while away the days in their small village, or shtetl, Rachel makes up stories and her orphaned cousin draws pictures in the dirt or snow to illustrate them. Although Rachel's mother offers to make Grisha a new coat, the boy clings to his threadbare jacket because it reminds him of his mother. When Russian soldiers come to round up the Jews, the family is forced to flee and makes the long, arduous journey to America. Grisha is nearly turned away by immigration authorities at Ellis Island because of a cut on his eye. Rachel saves the situation when she turns his shabby coat inside out to hide the doctor's chalk mark. Realistic yet impressionistic oil paintings in subdued tones evoke scenes from village and farm life in the old country, while sepia-toned illustrations depict the hardships of the voyage and the grimness of the customs inspection. A touching story of immigration and the resiliency of those who underwent the transition, told with the fondness of a cherished memory.
Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590677179
• ISBN-13: 978-0590677172
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elvira Woodruff is the author of over twenty picture books and novels for young readers including George Washington's Socks. Most recent books include Fearless and Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely, sentimental story, June 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Memory Coat (Hardcover)

I purchased a copy of this book for a friend whose great grandparents immigrated from Russia and entered the United States through Ellis Island and then purchased one for myself to read aloud to my third grade students. The paintings are beautiful and haunting; some in color, some in sepia tones. The story itself is heartwarming and sentimental.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book, April 24, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Memory Coat (Hardcover)

My Favorite Book

My favorite book was The Memory Coat. Why is this my favorite book? I love this book because at the time I was reading it, we were learning about it in social studies. It was about immigration and how hard it was.

I feel it was very hard to get into the U.S. I think the most interesting part of the story was very sad. It was when they wouldn't let him in because he got a black eye. That was when he hit his eye on a basket. So they wrote an E on his jacket. It stood for eye. He turned his jacket inside out to get into America. That took a lot of courage.

Jonathan
DME

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Memory Coat, April 17, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Memory Coat (Hardcover)

The book, The Memory Coat, is about a Russian family of Jews with an orphan who had lost his mother in an epedimic. His coat was what his mother had crafted out of her own coat and the last thing he can remember her by. His name is Grisha, the family of Jews is his family.
It teaches that Jews were murdered even before the Holocaust. Jews in Russia saw America as a safety from prosecution; most Jewish people sold everything they had to buy a ticket to America most were sent back.

Hunter D.
5th Grader