Letters from Rifka: With connected readings (Prentice Hall literature library) - Hardcover

Hesse, Karen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0134375025 ISBN 13: 9780134375021

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2000

Synopsis

From Publishers Weekly Twelve-year-old Rifka's journey from a Jewish community in the Ukraine to Ellis Island is anything but smooth sailing. Modeled on the author's great-aunt, Rifka surmounts one obstacle after another in this riveting novel. First she outwits a band of Russian soldiers, enabling her family to escape to Poland. There the family is struck with typhus. Everyone recovers, but Rifka catches ringworm on the next stage of the journey--and is denied passage to America ("If the child arrives . . . with this disease," explains the steamship's doctor, "the Americans will turn her around and send her right back to Poland"). Rifka's family must leave without her, and she is billeted in Belgium for an agreeable if lengthy recovery. Further trials, including a deadly storm at sea and a quarantine, do not faze this resourceful girl. Told in the form of "letters" written by Rifka in the margins of a volume of Pushkin's verse and addressed to a Russian relative, Hesse's vivacious tale colorfully and convincingly refreshes the immigrant experience. Ages 9-12. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From School Library Journal Grade 4-7. Refused passage in 1919 because she has ringworm, a young Jewish girl from Russia battles supercilious officials and yards of red tape before she is finally reunited with her family in America. Historical fiction with a memorable heroine, a vivid sense of place, and a happily-ever-after ending. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Catherine "Cat" Ferry is a forensic odontologist, a specialist in bite marks and the clues they provide. But while Cat’s colleagues know her as a world-class scientist, she secretly attempts to manage her fragile psyche with alcohol, delving into the minds of rapists and murderers yet never allowing her own frightening past to creep into the foreground.

About the Author:

Karen Hesse has received numerous honors for her writing, including the Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award, the MacArthur Fellowship “Genius” Award, the Christopher Award, and the Newbery Medal. Ms. Hesse is also the author of WISH UPON A UNICORN, LETTERS FROM RIFKA and PHOENIX RISING, both available with new cover art. She lives in Brattleboro, Vermont.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0134375025
• ISBN 13: 9780134375021
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 156