My America: Hope In My Heart, Sofia's Ellis Island Diary, Book One (My America: Sofia's Immigrant Diaries) - Softcover

Lasky, Kathryn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0439449626 ISBN 13: 9780439449625

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2003

Synopsis

In Book One of Sofia's Ellis Island Diary, renowned author Kathryn Lasky tells the story of Sofia Monari's arrival in America from Italy.

When Sofia and her family arrive in Ellis Island after a long and difficult journey from Italy, a cruel twist of fate separates Sofia from her parents and sends her into "quarantine." There, in a state-run hopsital, she and her new friend, Maureen, must learn to overcome the twin hardships of immigration and alienation, while they maintain the hope that they will be reunited with their families.

About this title

From Booklist:

Reviewed with Kathryn Lasky's Home at Last.

Gr. 3-6. An Italian immigrant child writes her diary in these two small books that are part of the My America series. Hope in My Heart is the most dramatic. After the family finally arrives at Ellis Island, nine-year-old Sofia is separated from her parents and quarantined. Terrified, angry, and knowing almost no English, she is at the mercy of officials and doctors, some of whom are prejudiced and corrupt. Only her friendship with an Irish girl and the support of a kind official and a priest make her life bearable, until her heartfelt reunion with her family. Home at Last is a conventional account of Italian Americans who struggle and eventually make it in the North End community of Boston. A teacher makes a huge difference, as does a doctor, whose character is based on a real person, Lasky's husband's grandfather. As is often the case with books in this series, the diary format is an awkward contrivance, but it certainly makes the tale more immediate. A historical note and archival photos add to the story. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0439449626
• ISBN 13: 9780439449625
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112