Gittel's Journey Book Review

Book Review
Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story
Written by Lesléa Newman
Illustrated by Amy June Bates
Expected publication: February 5, 2019

Why we chose this book:
I am totally a book-cover judger. If the cover catches my eye, I'm so much more likely to read the synopsis. And doesn't Gittel's scarf just catch your eye, too? Abrams provided a review copy.

Mom's Review

An emotional account of young Gittel's journey to America alone.

Based on two true stories from the author's relatives, Gittel's Journey recounts how fictional Gittel's mother is turned away by immigration officials, prompting her to send Gittel alone to a relative in the United States. Nervous and alone, Gittel bravely follows her mother's directions, retains the address of her relative, and speaks with immigration officers on Ellis Island. It is there, however, that a second seemingly insurmountable obstacle appears. When Gittel shows the officer the slip of paper with the all-important address of her new home, the officer sees nothing but a smudge of ink. Gittel has held the paper so tightly during her voyage that all the ink has bled together. She does not know the last name of her relative, nor does she recall the address. The interpreter with whom Gittel speaks Yiddish is compassionate and proactive, placing her photograph in a Jewish newspaper. The cousin sees it and comes to take Gittel home; months later her mother arrives. 

T was enraptured. He did not even ask questions or wiggle during the entire reading. We often chat as we read, but he was so spellbound and I didn't want to break that spell. I am still not entirely certain what was most compelling, as he could not or would not articulate it. Perhaps it was the beautiful artistry of the illustrations and frames. Perhaps it was the rawness of the emotions Gittel feels on her journey. Perhaps it was the powerful story of what someone will endure for a better, safer life. Perhaps it was the craft with which the story was woven. Perhaps it was the uncertainty of what would would happen along the way. Or, most likely, it was the combination of all of these. Newman and Bates work together to pull the audience in so completely that you feel as though you are right there with Gittel the whole way. From leaving her goat with her best friend, to clutching the shabbos candlesticks alone in her berth on the ship, to eventually hugging her mother again, the reality of immigrating to a new, unknown home is conveyed in this heartfelt picture book. 

Powerful.

My advice? Get your hands on it and read, read, read!

Son's Review
(Age: almost 4 years old)

Son: I felt sad because she had to leave and the goat didn't get to come.

Mom: I felt nervous that she wouldn't find her mother's cousin. I was relieved when he found her.

Mom: Did you have a favorite person?

Son: Her mother's cousin...I liked Gittel, that she was alone.

Mom: Mendel? I liked the interpreter because he was kind when he didn't have to be.

Mom: Do you think Gittel was brave?

Son: I thought she wasn't pretty much brave since she had to say goodbye and she did some tears.

Mom: It's okay to cry; that doesn't mean you're not brave. She was scared to go, but she did it anyway. That's what being brave is.

Son: I felt like she was very, very, very brave to travel on her own.

Mom: What if you had been traveling with Gittel?

Son: I would just say, "Hello," to Gittel. She wouldn't be sad since she had company.

Mom: Who should read this book?

Son: [My friend] D. Because that's just good.

Mom: What would he like about it?

Son: That it's about traveling. That's what he would like about it?

Mom: What's the most important thing to know about Gittel's Journey?

Son: That Gittel is traveling on her own. That's what I think is amazing.

Other:
Here's a little personal tidbit about the photo. The scarf in the picture was a treasured one of my grandmother's; she also immigrated to this country, though as an adult. She would tell me a story about how she dropped her scarf on a train platform while traveling as a refugee with her family. It was her beautiful, treasured scarf, and a Russian soldier picked it up. She thought she would never get it back, but he immediately and gently handed it to her. Based on several of her stories, I understand this to be that scarf.