Module
10: Historical Fiction
Book:
When Jessie Came Across The Sea
Author:
Amy Hest
Illustrator:
P.J. Lynch
Plot
Jessie is chosen
by the town’s rabbi to go to America and make something out herself. Although
it is a blessing to be chosen, it is also a curse; Jessie must leave behind her
home and her elderly grandmother. Her journey to America is on a boat along
with other immigrants and her sewing skills are shown off. She meets Lou, a
young shoe maker, and a spark is apparent between them. Once Jessie arrives on
American soil and goes through customs, she is greeted by her aunt and they
leave for her apartment. The story continues with Jessie working and becoming a
very good lacemaker with wedding gowns as her forte. Jessie goes to school,
saves some money, reunites with Lou and finds love. Years go by and Jessie
finally has enough money to send for her Grandmother. When Jessie and her
Grandmother finally reunite, her Grandmother hands her her parent’s wedding
bands; Jessie thought she had lost them. With the reunion and the founding of
what was though was lost, Jessie’s life has come full circle and now must
continue. The ending of the story opens a new story where Jessie get married,
becomes famous for her wedding dresses, and lives with her grandmother.
Impression
of the Novel
As an immigrant,
I enjoyed the story for its’ honesty and connected with Jessie’s character and
experience in the new world. The heartache that comes with leaving ones
hometown, ones loved ones, and old life is not easy and the book illustrates it
really well.
Usage
in a Library Setting
During the holiday
season-especially Thanksgiving- this story is a great way to talk about the different
experiences of immigrants. Kids originally from another country can write a
book and illustrate it similarly to that of When
Jessie came across the Sea. Or we can have a guest speaker Native
of Eastern Europe tell their own harrowing tale of leaving their mother country
and creating a new life in the new world.
Reviews
“This
narrative of 13-year-old Jessie's journey from a poor village in Eastern
Europe to New fork City at the turn of the century affords readers a panoramic
view of events and people. The author's exploration of a variety of emotions
and feelings provides modern youngsters with a sense of connections with times
long past. There is the familial devotion between Jessie and her
grandmother whom she has to leave behind. A shipboard friendship with Lou, a
young shoemaker, helps Jessie survive the hardships and uncertainties of
the ocean crossing. Her skill as a lacemaker painstakingly learned from her
grandmother, insures her success in the dressmaker's shop where she goes to
work. Her romance with Lou is rekindled when they meet years later on a
wintry day in Central Park. Jessie's reunion with her grandmother, whose
ticket she has purchased with money saved during years of hard work is the
poignant conclusion to this tale. Lynch's luminous watercolor and gouache
illustrations capture the characters' feelings, at the same time recording the
storms at sea and teeming streets of the Lower East Side. The two young
people's spirit of hope and optimism, created by the straightforward text, is
enhanced by these pictures, as they provide a visual record of difficulties
encountered by the scores of immigrants who reached these shores. This book
will be particularly useful for units on immigration and family histories, used
in conjunction with Allen Say's Grandfather's Journey (Houghton, 1993) or
Jeanette Winter's Klara's New World (Knopf, 1992, o.p.).”
~~~~~~~~
By Martha Rosen,
Edgewood School, Scarsdale, NY
Book Review
Editor: Trevelyn E. Jones, Associate Book Review Editor: Luann Toth, Assistant
Book Review Editor: Joy Fleishhacker, Assistant Editor: Abby Young
APA Citation
Hest, A., &
Lynch, P. J. (1997). When Jessie came across the sea. Cambridge, MA:
Candlewick Press.
Rosen, M.
(1997). Preschool to grade 4: Fiction. School Library Journal, 43(11),
82.
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