Customer Reviews

The Memory Coat

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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

Have you ever read the book called The Memory Coat? Well, I have and it is a great book. This book is going with the Ellis Island review. This is the most favorite book I ever read.

The Memory Coat was amazing; it made me understand Ellis Island better. The author who wrote this book did a good job of writing it. This is 5 star rating book.

Maleek
DME

"During the reign of Tsar Nicholas I, over six hundred anti-Jewish decrees were enacted." Think about that!

"Then one day, news spread through the market place that the Cossacks were coming on powerful horses and waving sharp swords. They were looking to kill anyone who was Jewish. There was great chaos as babies cried, dogs barked, and wagons clattered over cobblestones. People screamed and shouted and ran to hide in their cellars and attics and barns.

From their attic window Rachel and Grisha trembled as the Cossacks swept through their town."

This is a rather grim tale at times; grim but I will tell you know that it has a good and happy ending. The love and devotion the family shows each other is touching and inspiring. The persecution set off a chain of events that forced this poor Russian family to immigrate to the United States and escape the horror that was their country. The only wrong they had done was being Jewish.

This story is held together by a coat the young boy in the story and follows the family on their journey, including an almost disaster at Ellis Island. The story is told in wonderfully simply prose and as so often is the case, much of what is not said is far more important that what is said.

The art work in this book is wonderfully executed. It captures "Old World Europe" perfectly. From full color to grim black and white - all extremely detailed that captures the immigration experience perfectly. We follow the family primarily through Rachel and her brother Grisha; two young siblings whose entire way of life has been ripped from them and a new start is the only thing that will save them. Troubles? Yes, but the solid love and devotion this family shows win through in the end.

This is an excellent book for use in Social Studies.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

History has often seemed depressing at times. However, during history we can't just sit down and cry. If I could choose one impression The Memory Coat has shown to me in confidence, it would be that one. This book has shown me just how grueling history can be.
A book like The Memory Coat, I'd recommend to any age group. This book even has a message for little kids of don't give up, even if things seem dull. History can repeat its self. The one wrong move you make is giving up. The one question The Memory Coat left hanging was where we would be without pure support like this.
Arianna
DME

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