Annushka's Voyage

by Edith Tarbescu, Bruce Degen (Illustrator), Lydia Dabcovich (Illustrator)

Set at the turn of the century, this sensitively told story, based on the true story of the author's own mother's journey to America, follows the journey of two young sisters as they travel from their small village in Russia to join their papa in New York. In her lively text, Edith Tarbescu communicates the hopes and fears of the two young immigrants. Expressive illustrations capture the many extraordinary moments of the sisters' transatlantic journey including their glorious reunion with Papa, made possible with the help of a pair of special Sabbath candlesticks.

Genres: Picture Books, Jewish, Historical Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 1998

Reviews

[Irma Gonzalez]

Annushka’s Voyage, is a realistic and somewhat historical story based off the time when Russian immigrants came to Ellis Island to start anew in America. The story is about these two sisters who father sends for them from America. While they travel across the ocean, they experience unhygienic and crowded living spaces, sickness, and loneliness as they missed their father. Once they arrive they were faced with the doctor check-ups to determine their acceptances into America. It was frightful to imagine one same cough could prevent the girls from seeing their father. At last, they meet with their father and they were together for now on. It’s a very sad, but still hopeful story depicting some of the situations that can happen to immigrants while they risk their lives to have a better future. I believe would find this interesting and be grateful to learn about the history of other people, especially of other children like themselves.

[Shoshanna]

I really loved this one! Illustrated in a busy but beautiful manner, this picture book tells the story of a young woman named Anya and her sister Tanya, as they journey from the shtetl to their new home with their father in New York! There are many books about this, but this one is really good for a few reasons. The descriptive text really helps you imagine you are there with them and the illustrations give a very full image of their journey! I just really love this! :)

[Erin]

We just learned about the Statue of Liberty, and this book tied together nicely the story of how immigrants arrived in New York Harbor and saw the Statue. We did this for TruthQuest History III, and we all enjoyed it. I even cried when the girls in the book had to leave their grandparents behind to travel to America!

(Kids ages 9 and 6, and a tag-along 3 year even listened to the whole book).

[Maria Ambrosini]

This book is about two sisters that make the trip from Russia to the United States during the time there was so much hatred towards jews. After their mother passes away, they make their way to New York in order to meet up with their father. The book discusses all the obstacles that these two girls that to go through. They made their trip on a ship where they had to go through seasickness, storms and many other problems on the ship. They soon arrived and joined their father with huge hugs. This story offers many questions that children can think about and consider. It allows them to visualize someone's journey to get here from Russia during this time period. It uses realistic characters because the book is actually inspired by the author's mother's journey to the United States. Therefore the author actually has personal references and experiences in the group of people she wrote a story on. The illustrations are very detailed and will play a huge role in children being able to also visualize what is happening.

[Ch_katiemcginnis]

This is a charming and sweet tale of two young woman who immigrate to America from Russia through Ellis Island to meet their dad after their mom died. The illsutrations done by Lydiq Dabcovish are vivid and capture the clothing and landscape of that era. This is a great book that expresses the descriptive details of those who came to America by boat. The two young girls had to travel through Europe first beofre they boarded the boat on thier own.
This book can be read aloud to elementary students or middle school students who are studying a unti on Immigration and Early America time period. This book is great for a study on characterization since the two young girls show bravery and perserverance throughout the picture book.