Starred Review In the tradition of Russell Freedman's Immigrant Kids (1980), but much more detailed, this history of the 23 million immigrants who came to New York City from southern and eastern Europe at the end of the nineteenth century humanizes the statistics by weaving together the personal stories of five young people with the social conditions that caused them to emigrate, what they left behind, what they hoped for, what they found, and how they changed America. Amazing documentary photos by Jacob Riis and many others, as well as riveting quotes from archives and memoirs, add depth and drama to the accounts of young people, from street to school to sweatshop. At 16, Marcus Ravage convinces his parents to sell the family cow to pay for his journey from Romania. Lithuanian immigrant Pauline Newman becomes one of the first women labor organizers. Italian American Leonard Covello is ashamed to bring his friends home, even as he learns that he can become American without rejecting where he came from. Meticulous documentation, including full chapter notes, will help the many young people--and their parents and grandparents--who will want to know more and to research their own family roots.

This well-organized social history documents the struggles of young immigrants (including dangerous living and working conditions, poverty, and lack of education) to carve out better futures for themselves and their families. The accessible narrative, supported by well-placed sepia-toned archival photographs, draws much of its intensity from the young immigrants' firsthand accounts. Further reading, timeline. Bib., ind.

Between 1880 and 1919, 23 million people came to America, most through the port of New York and most from eastern and southern Europe. Five young individuals and their experiences represent those masses in this well-conceived volume. Hopkinson covers the journey, Ellis Island, tenements, street life, work, reform movements, and education, always rooted in the actual stories and words of individual immigrants. Archival photographs—including many by Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis, excerpts from autobiographies and oral histories, and meticulous documentation, with a section on resources for young readers, make this an excellent model of historical writing. Hopkinson's enthusiasm for research, primary sources, and individual stories that make history come alive is evident throughout this excellent work. Nonfiction at its best and a good companion to Mary Jane Auch's Ashes of Roses (2002), Johanna Hurwitz's Dear Emma (2002), and other recent works on the subject. (foreword, afterword, timeline, notes, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 9+)

This chronicle of the challenges facing immigrants in New York's teeming tenements effectively employs primary sources to place a personal face on broader historical events, helping children make sense of the impressive statistic that about 23 million people came to the U.S. between 1880–1919, with 17 million entering via New York (the book ends in 1924, with the passage of legislation that limited immigration). Hopkinson (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Fannie in the Kitchen) follows five transplants from Belarus, Italy, Lithuania and Romania who emigrated as children or teens (all of the subjects later wrote autobiographies or articles and speeches, which serve as the foundation for Hopkinson's text). Through them the author explores issues ranging from the bewilderment of greenhorns like 16-year-old Marcus, who didn't understand why his seemingly wealthy relatives ("[they] could indulge in the luxury of meat in the middle of the day") shared their apartment with half a dozen or more boarders, to the growing unrest of exploited laborers who gradually gathered the courage to agitate for better working conditions. She balances a highly readable discussion of change and reform with a look at the culture, joy and play that also characterized these vibrant communities. Throughout, period photographs ably support and highlight the text. Ages 8-12.<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC""> (Oct.)

Gr 5-8-Through the stories of five immigrants, the world of New York City's tenements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries comes alive with descriptions of the newcomers' struggles and triumphs as they attended night school, abandoned customs, or in other ways acclimated to life in America. Some came as children, others as teenagers, all eager either to succeed on their own or to help their families. Leonard Covello, who left Italy and arrived at Ellis Island with his mother and younger brothers six years after his father, became a high school principal. Pauline Newman began her working career in 1901 as a child laborer in the garment industry and later became one of the first women organizers of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Citing sources, Hopkinson quotes frequently from her subjects' and others' writing, and provides a detailed and intimate picture of daily life in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The text is supported by numerous tinted, archival photos of living and working conditions. Although this book will appeal to students looking for material for projects, the writing lends immediacy and vivid images make it simply a fascinating read.-Carol Fazioli, formerly at The Brearley School, New York City Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.