Nothing Here But Stones: A Jewish Pioneer Story [Hardcover]

Nancy Oswald (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

At first I thought everything in America would look like New York City, with shops and crowded streets, but I have discovered, the farther west we travel, that there are long stretches of nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I only hope the place we are going to is not so empty.

A Russian Jewish family struggles to make a new start in America

To Emma, Colorado seems as barren as an unfinished house. The land is too poor to farm, so Papa must work long hours in the mines. The trials of frontier life are especially hard for these Russian Jewish immigrants, who speak no English and practice a different religion from the others in the area. With a harsh, hungry winter coming, the settlement needs some good luck. Can Emma make it happen?

Based on the real struggles of an exceptional group of pioneers who came west in 1882, this is a finely crafted portrait of a family striving to make a home out of nothing.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8–This novel is about the establishment of a Russian-Jewish community in Cotopaxi, CO, in 1882. Emma's family and neighbors flee the terror and persecution of Tsarist Russia for a better life in America, but instead they encounter harsh realities that threaten their survival: unfinished houses, rocky soil, severe winter weather, marauding bears, starving Indians, and cultural isolation. Emma and her siblings cling to their widowed papa, who takes mining and railroad-construction jobs to make ends meet. Older sister Adar rules their home with a sharp, critical eye while younger sister Ruth enjoys Emma's affectionate attention. But the family is devastated when baby Leb dies. Lonely and restless, Emma pins her hopes for happiness on Mazel, a horse whose life she saves. In the end, the future looks brighter as help arrives from a Jewish aid society in Denver. Emma's reflective narrative reveals her passionate, spontaneous personality and the perseverance and mutual support among the pioneers. Jewish customs and traditions are woven smoothly into their daily lives. With compassion and curiosity, the girl reaches out to her new world. Emma's role as middle child, outsider, dreamer, and risk taker is realistic. This well-paced, vivid account should capture readers' attention.–Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Driven from home in Kishinev, Russia, in 1882, a group of Russian Jewish immigrants struggles to set up an agricultural colony near Cotopaxi in the mountains of Colorado. The true history is fictionalized through the poignant first-person narrative of Emma, 11, who recalls the racist oppression the group left behind even as she describes the harsh conditions in the new land. The immigrants, who speak no English, don't find what they were promised: their crops fail, and Papa must labor in the coal mines and for the railroads. Their faith sustains them, and when they set the sacred Torah in a new synagogue, "it seemed we floated . . . on God's palm." The many characters are hard to keep straight, but Emma's family story, the core of the drama, is told with spare realism, especially when it deals with Emma's angry relationship with her bossy older sister as they both cope with their anguish and loss and find their place. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (August 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805074651
• ISBN-13: 978-0805074659
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Oswald is a teacher and writer living with her husband, dogs, cats, cows and goats on a family ranch in Cotopaxi, Colorado. While Nancy spent her growing up years in Denver, Colorado, she has lived as an adult in both rural Colorado and in the wilds of British Columbia. During her years in Canada, she published a middle grade humorous novel, and has also published personal interest pieces, children's plays, poetry, and an educational research piece.

Her current love, however, is writing Colorado historical fiction. "Nothing Here But Stones" based on the Jewish colony in Cotopaxi in 1882, was a Willa Literary Award winner, a Spur Award finalist, and named a Notable Book for a Global Society. Her second historical,"Hard Face Moon" is based on the events surrounding the Sand Creek Massacre. Loaded with action, this story is told through the eyes of a mute,coming of age, Cheyenne boy. Oswald's newest book, Rescue in Poverty Gulch plunges, Ruby and her Donkey, Maude into the gold mining boom town of Cripple Creek in 1896. When Pa decides Ruby needs to learn to become a lady, oil and water don't mix.

"Real events and real people spark my imagination and desire to create stories that connect readers to their past."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and unique historical fiction., September 6, 2004

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nothing Here But Stones: A Jewish Pioneer Story (Hardcover)

Eleven-year-old Emma, her widowed father, her two sisters, and her baby brother have left their home in a small village in Russia to immigrate to America. In Russia, their lives were dangerous because they were Jews, and they were not allowed to own land. Emma's father dreams of building a better life for his family and being able to own a farm. Emma's family is part of a group of Russian Jewish immigrants hoping to build an agricultural colony on the Colorado frontier. But when they arrive in Colorado, they find they have been deceived. The land is poor, and their houses are unfinished. Emma must work hard to help her family, and she is desperately lonely and longs for her mother, who died in Russia shortly before the family left for America. It is only when she saves the life of an injured horse that she finally finds a friend.

I loved this unusual historical novel. I have read many historical fiction books about Jewish immigrants, but none about Jewish pioneers who settled on the frontier. I really enjoyed reading about this forgotten piece of history and I highly recommend this book to young readers who enjoy immigrant or pioneer stories.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different view of people who settled the west, June 5, 2005

By 

Jan M. Evans (Cotopaxi, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nothing Here But Stones: A Jewish Pioneer Story (Hardcover)

This historical novel is set in an unlikely environment--the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of central Colorado. The Russian Jewish refugees came to farm land with a short growing season, rocky soil, and sporadic rainfall.
If you want to understand the pioneer experience of a group of people who were misled into believing they were coming to the promised land, this book is a glimpse into their lives.
The problems that face motherless children are universal, and in this setting all the more difficult.
It's a good read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SFC 4 star review, November 5, 2007

By 

Virginia S. Grenier "Children's Author & Stor... (Ivins, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nothing Here But Stones: A Jewish Pioneer Story (Hardcover)

Nothing Here But Stones is a wonderfully written historical fiction telling the account of a Jewish Colony in Cotopaxi, Colorado. This colony was in existence during 1882 through 1884. Even though the colonists didn't stay much longer than two years their dedication to find a new home was one of sacrifice.

The main character is a young Jewish girl named Emma. She tells us about her journey from Russia across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. She is homesick for the land she knew, and finds New York City different and a little scary. But it's when she boards the train to cross the United States to her new home in Cotopaxi that we truly feel her fear, stress, and sadness. When she arrives in Cotopaxi with her family and the other colonists, it's to a barren mountain community, nothing like the land she was used to seeing in Russia. Her father and the other men are told the houses aren't ready for them to move into and that the money they had sent ahead to build the colony is already spent. The Jewish families band together and build their colony even though everything seems to be against them. A lot of the conflict Emma and her family experience are based on true events that happened to different Jewish colonists; from bad weather stunting the crops to losing a loved one.

Author Nancy Oswald's story may be about a fictional family, but she vividly captures the hardships, loyalty, sacrifice, and dedication the Jewish people have always shown throughout history.

Stories for Children Editor, VS Grenier