At bedtime, a grandmother shares with her granddaughter their favorite story about Russia, gypsies, a field of butterflies, the revolution, and a young mother who, carrying her baby, journeys halfway around the world to freedom. Based on a true story.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up-- ```Feet,' she said. `Where haven't you been?''' ``She'' is a grandmother, and telling her granddaughter where her feet have been is the frame on which this narrative is hung. For the feet were young once, in pre-revolutionary Russia, in happy times of gypsies and orchards and plenty. But they have also carried the woman through the horrors of war and deprivation. Woven into the frightening story is the birth of a child, kind gestures of strangers, and the realization of new life in America. Based on a real person, the narration gives a real face to the generic masses affected by events of history. The illustrations are remarkable--bright and reflective of traditional Russian art. Repeating patterns, intricate borders, and powerful images greet the eye and complement the text with visual authenticity. The grandmother on the cover is shaped like a matrioska doll, perhaps foreshadowing the story within a story. This is not an easy book to categorize, for while it has a strong message of family, strength, and hope that young children could relate to, it is set in a complex historical matrix of interest to older readers. Elementary children would appreciate the story, but an astute middle or high teacher could use this picture book to illustrate this turbulent period. --Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI CHRISTOPHER, Matt. Return of the Home Run Kid. illus. by Paul
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Basing his narrative on the experiences of his wife's mother, who was born in Russia in 1907 and escaped westward in a harrowing journey during WW II, Cech tells a moving story as it might be told to a grandchild at bedtime. When Grandmother was a girl, a grateful gypsy cured her of terrible headaches; when she was newly married, a less friendly gypsy told her a time would come when she would ``pray to endure one more hour...when your every footstep will be pain.'' Indeed, the Revolution brings famine and death; during the war, carrying a baby whose innocence helps win them many kindnesses, she and her husband make their way to America. Much is left out, of course, but what remains is an authentic picture of tragedy endured by dint of perseverance and good will. The artist's decorative style, abundant with patterns and borders, recalls both folk art and the mannered, richly evocative paintings of Chagall. Without detracting from the story's somber dignity, the pervasive floral designs subtly lighten the mood and provide a reminder that joy may prevail--as it does here in a happy ending that goes beyond the gypsy's prophecy. A compelling, thoughtful blend of the light and the dark in human experience, skillfully shaped into a tale suitable for sharing with young children. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful bedtime story,
By A Customer
This review is from: My Grandmother's Journey (Hardcover)
This is a beautiful bedtime story for all children, and a must for anyone descended of European immigrants. The story is the story of my relatives and my friends' relatives who travelled before, during, and some after, WWII, braving many dangers before bringing us safely to America. As the oral tradition of passing on these stories dies away, it is important to have reminders of our history and what our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents went through to ensure our freedom and safety. It is a tale that also reminds us of the strength and courage of the human spirit, as well as the love and compassion that we all share for each other, even as strangers in foreign lands. The children I have shared this story with have become fascinated with the adventure (both light and dark sides), and enchanted by the drawings and motifs that are caught somewhere in between folk-art and eastern European designs.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hopeful,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: My Grandmother's Journey (Paperback)
I love the perseverance demonstrated in this story. Based on the life of Feodosia Ivanovna Belevstov, the author's mother-in-law, who was born in pre-Revolutionary Russia in 1907, it is one of survival under harsh conditions. The story takes place during the Russian revolution, when the Whites (Mensheviks) lost to the Bolsheviks (Reds), Stalin's 1930s purges and World War II. Belevstov and her husband, who by then had an infant daughter, were captured by the Germans and forced into slave labor. Belevstov emigrated to the U.S. following liberation in 1947. This is a story of hope.
It also offers a tender treatment of the Romany people. As a child, the author's mother-in-law once saw a caravan of Gypsy wagons drawn by tired horses through the first snow. A man and his wife and infant stopped for water, which the child ran to get. She begged her mother to let the family stay the night with them. The young Gypsy woman somehow knew that while the child had a good heart, she was often ill, and told her mother, "Tonight is the first snow. It is a time of healing. Let me try to help her." Having been to many doctors, all of whom were unable to treat the child's strange headaches, her mother cried in joy at the unexpected offer of assistance. The story goes on, "She bathed my temples with the water from the snowflakes.... She sang to me in her calm, deep voice. The song was old, old. I did not know the words, but they were soft and sure and rocked me quietly with their sound." The next morning the girl awoke to the sound of Gypsy bells as the caravan left the town, and ran after them to say goodbye. Ten years later, another caravan arrived, this time bearing a fortune-teller who predicted that the girl, now married, would some day cry out for a crust of bread, pray to endure one more hour, take every step in pain. Of course, with the revolution and World War II, all this came to pass, and the rest of the story is framed lovingly around the fortune that the Romany woman told. The vibrant illustrations evoke the quality of Russian folk art. Alyssa A. Lappen
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