What do you think?
Rate this book
An Ellis Island Christmas
The Christmas holidays are filled with uncertainty for Krysia as she approaches Ellis Island on a ship filled with other Polish immigrants hoping to start fresh in the New World.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1992
2 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 14, 2021
The Petrowski family set out for America in this lovely picture-book examination of the immigrant experience, hoping to be reunited with the father and husband who preceded them. Young Krysia, who narrates the tale, must endure many hardships, from choosing which possessions will make the journey with her (and which must be left behind), to the cramped quarters and frequent seasickness, on the ocean voyage. When the family arrive in New York Harbor, and get their first glimpse of Lady Liberty, it is Christmas Eve. Processed through Ellis Island, they spend their Christmas waiting for Papa to arrive...
According to the dust-jacket blurb, Maxinne Rhea Leighton, who made her authorial debut with An Ellis Island Christmas in 1992, and who does not appear to have written anything else thus far, was affiliated with the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration restoration project - a background that has clearly paid off, as her narrative, in addition to being well-written and engaging, feels authentic and believable. I entered fully into Krysia's feelings, mourning with her as she left all she knew behind, and rejoicing when she was finally reunited with her Papa. The artwork, done in watercolor by Dennis Nolan, is immensely appealing, capturing the emotional resonance of the story. This is just a lovely, lovely book, one that I recommend to young readers (advanced picture-book level and up) who are interested in immigrant stories and/or unusual Christmas tales.
According to the dust-jacket blurb, Maxinne Rhea Leighton, who made her authorial debut with An Ellis Island Christmas in 1992, and who does not appear to have written anything else thus far, was affiliated with the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration restoration project - a background that has clearly paid off, as her narrative, in addition to being well-written and engaging, feels authentic and believable. I entered fully into Krysia's feelings, mourning with her as she left all she knew behind, and rejoicing when she was finally reunited with her Papa. The artwork, done in watercolor by Dennis Nolan, is immensely appealing, capturing the emotional resonance of the story. This is just a lovely, lovely book, one that I recommend to young readers (advanced picture-book level and up) who are interested in immigrant stories and/or unusual Christmas tales.
December 12, 2018
A lovely little book with very pretty illustrations and good information for a young reader.
November 22, 2019
I liked this book and the illustrations, but it could have been longer and had more details.
February 27, 2020
The illustrations are wanting a bit, but nice story about the fear and struggle of late 1800’s immigrants from the viewpoint of a young child.
February 9, 2011
This is a wonderful, touching book. I purchased it in New York while visiting the Statue of Liberty. The author was there and she inscribed it to my daughter. The main character was designed after the author's father. I honestly can't read it without getting choked up.
December 12, 2024
It would be great for everyone to read this book by Maxinne Thea Leighton about immigration of long ago and those who first had to be approved to stay after examination at Ellis Island. This time, a young girl tells the story of her, her mother, and two older brothers in Poland who make the very long journey to join their father, already in America. They first walked a very long way to get to the ship with only what they could carry tied in a bedsheet, then endured the terrible conditions on the ocean voyage. Finally, finally, there she was, Lady Liberty, welcoming them. It's a heartfelt story, beautifully illustrated by Dennis Nolan. There is added information from Leighton at the back.
October 4, 2018
An Ellis Island Christmas is just an average book, but I will say it does have some very good content in the book. This book shows how hard it is being an immigrant from another country and how long, and hard the journey was to get to this great country America. The journey was long and you could be come sick, if you did make it there was a chance you could be sent back to Europe because you were sick. Overall being an immigrant and having to take that long journey shows how hard it was to get in this country during the 1900. This book was a good book and the illustrations in this book were very well done.
November 30, 2022
Bought from thrift books which did not ID this book as a childrens picture book. So it’s not what I was expecting, I was looking for a full story.
For a child’s book it’s not bad as it will give children a small idea of what people went through coming to America.
For a child’s book it’s not bad as it will give children a small idea of what people went through coming to America.
November 30, 2019
A nice reminder that the US is a nation of immigrants. Excellent artwork.
December 28, 2022
This is a wonderful story about a family coming to America to be with their husband and father.
January 4, 2023
A family that lives in Poland immigrates to America. Author note at the end is good and shares more of the story of Ellis Island.
December 18, 2016
Beautifully illustrated picture book about an immigrant family arriving at Ellis Island at Christmastime..
A great historical fiction picture book to add to your Christmas collection.
December 19, 2011
A young Polish girl and her family immigrate to America through Ellis Island. She arrives just before Christmas and enjoys a few surprises as she awaits being reunited with her father. I read this in December as an example of historical fiction with my third graders. I wanted the read aloud to be about 15 minutes so I picked the pages that I wanted to read and simply summarized a few other pages. My students really liked the part where the young girl tries her first banana. A great connection for second and third graders learning about immigration. Also an easy picture book example of historical fiction.
April 19, 2012
As a young reader it was very difficult to understand and empathize with those from the history. This book does a great job of giving young readers a simplistic version of the significance of Ellis Island and how people from Polish people had to migrate to America. This book is great for integrating in a history portion to a lesson idea.
August 14, 2013
Wowzer, I enjoyed this book immensely and after reading so many picture books on immigrating to the US, I've decided to include "picture book groups" to my curriculum. That being said, this picture book will be a wonderful addition to my collection. The story includes vast details on the voyage as well as the Ellis Island experience.
December 10, 2008
My family came from Poland through Ellis Island. I read this book to my children and they were able to understand their ancestor's journey through the eyes of this young immigrant.
April 15, 2013
Excellent book about Ellis Island with only a little bit about Santa Claus and a tree. Good for elementary school history lesson.
February 26, 2015
Sweet short story about a girl that immigrates with her family from Poland to America, coming through Ellis Island.
December 10, 2015
My mother was a Prussian immigrant to America in 1911. She was only 3, but she also remembered eating a banana. A small treasure.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews