Grade 1-3-- When the author was six months old, her father went to America, where he worked for nearly seven years before he could afford to send for his wife and young daughter. In the simple language of a child, she reminisces about her friendship with her cousin Zisl, who later died in the Holocaust, and describes some events of her last days in the small Russian Jewish town where she was born. Bold, detailed tempera paintings in a primitive style feature family members and household scenes surrounded by borders filled with items relating to the text. Reisberg has added a further sense of realism by incorporating small family photographs into several of her illustrations. This brief story provides a fine, nonthreatening introduction to pre-World War II Jewish life in Eastern Europe. It can also serve in a broader sense as the basis for discussion of family history. --Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
A wonderful read-aloud story about the importance of family and cultural roots—a story for all generations to share -- MultiCultural Review
Fascinating illustrations…. The mixed-media presentation is vivid, historically fascinating, and lends a sense of mystery to the family's journey -- Hungry Mind Review
Leaving for America urges children to explore the mixed emotions common to all who leave their homes for new horizons. -- Greenburg Tribune-Review
Reisberg’s folksy paintings bordered with homey details enhance the scrapbook flavor of the story -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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