Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl (Hardcover)

by Marissa Moss (Author) "Today is my birthday..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
As life in 1901 Lithuania grows more dangerous for Jewish people, Hannah's family seizes an opportunity to send Hannah to America with her cousin Esther. At age 10, insatiably curious Hannah is more courageous than 14-year-old Esther and must push her through each door that brings them closer to their new life. Along the way the girls encounter a young orphan boy, and together, the three withstand the grueling journey across the ocean in the steerage compartment of the ship. But even after they've laid eyes on the Statue of Liberty, they're still not home free. They spend almost a month on Ellis Island, waiting for their American sponsor to find them, dreading the possibility of being deported before they ever set foot on the mainland. Hannah records her experiences and childlike drawings in a journal her "Papashka" (father) gave her before she departed.

Like Marissa Moss's popular Amelia series, this handwritten, fictionalized journal of America's peak immigration years in the early 1900s is tremendously appealing to adventurers and anyone who can trace family ties to another country. Moss is the author of several other titles in the Young American Voices series (Emma's Journal: The Story of a Colonial Girl and Rachel's Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl). Her skill in weaving personal tales with real historical information makes reading the journals an education and a delight. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-Hannah, 10, is a Russian Jew who leaves home for America with her 14-year-old cousin Esther in 1901. From the start, the journey is fraught with complications. Since Esther was originally supposed to travel with 16-year-old Rivka, who died of influenza, the two girls must assume different identities to match the already obtained passports. After a perilous trip filled with intolerable sanitary conditions, storms, and other discomforts, Esther, Hannah, and their new friend Samuel arrive on Ellis Island only to spend an agonizing month waiting for officials to locate their sponsor. Finally, he is found and they begin their new life in New York. The journal entries have a hand-lettered appearance and are sprinkled with colorful drawings and asides. Children may be confused by the fact that Hannah makes it clear from the start that her ability to read and write both Hebrew and Russian is limited, and she doesn't yet speak or write English. The voice seems to ring true, but whose is it? Despite the fact that the lack of formal schooling that young girls like Hannah had available to them presents a quandary for this type of journal format, Moss does give her readers a real sense of the time in which the protagonist lived.
Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Silver Whistle; 1st edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152021558
• ISBN-13: 978-0152021559
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,255,938 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A young girl's diary of her journey to America in 1901., August 20, 2000

By	Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Ten-year-old Hannah is a young Jewish girl living with her mother, father, and six brothers in a small Russian shetl in 1901. For her birthday, Hannah is given a journal. She writes witty observations of the world around her and draws clever pictures in the margins. After a violent attack on the Jews in the village, Hannah's parents decide that she should use her dead cousin's never used ticket to America. So with her other cousin, fourteen-year-old Esther, Hannah boards a train for the port and Hamburg, and then a boat for the voyage across the sea. In the face of difficult conditions, Hannah holds on to her dreams of building a better life in America and getting a real education. Highly reccomended if you enjoyed the previous two books in this series, Young American Voices, which is like a younger version of the Dear America series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspire your daughter to write her own journal!, May 14, 2007

By	Micki Gibbs (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl (Paperback)

We discovered these books when our 1st grader brought Rachel's Journal home from the library. After starting to read it to her, I couldn't put it down. When she had to return it, I went looking on line and bought 4 of the different journals. They are very educational and fun at the same time. It really showed our daughter how a journal can be more than a list of the day's events. THEN I realized the same author did some other books we had, the Amelia's Notebook series. Our daughter is writing in her journal every day now!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rivetting story, beautiful pictures!, July 10, 2001

By A Customer

Marissa Moss has done it again! In HANNAH'S JOURNAL, as in her other historical diaries, Moss expertly braids fascinating,factual detail with a child's personal story. Hannah's perceptive, poignant voice gives the account of her travels from Lithuania to New York City total freshness and immediacy. I can think of no more enjoyable way to teach history -- the conditions on board a ship in "steerage," the ordeal of Ellis Island, the terrifying, exhilerating experience of starting life in a new country and world. Hannah's (aka Moss') beautifully executed watercolors and drawings also bring Hannah's journey and journal to life. This book is a gem.