Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story

Lesléa Newman is the author of more than 60 books for adults and children, including Abrams' Here is the World, The Eight Nights of Chanukah and A Sweet Passover, which was given the Sydney Taylor Notable Book Award. She has received many literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Parent's Choice Silver Medal. She lives in Holyoke, MA. Additional information about Ms. Newman and her work may be found at www.lesleakids.com.  Amy Bates is the illustrator of Abrams' Bear in the Air, Minette's Feast, and The Dog Who Belonged to No One. She lives in Pennsylvania.

“Mixed-media images by Bates (The Big Umbrella), washed in yellows and browns and framed by woodblock motifs, give readers a vivid sense of the historical context while infusing the story with a timeless emotional immediacy. Newman (Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed) skillfully modulates her narration, capturing her protagonist’s feelings of excitement, loneliness, and fear. The ending, handled with both restraint and warmth, relies on one of those improbable twists of good fortune that define so many immigrant stories—and it’s based on a real event.”