Letters from Rifka
| Author | Karen Hesse |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Children's historical novel, epistolary novel |
| Publisher | Henry Holt & Co. (Macmillan) |
Publication date | July 15, 1992[1] |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 148 pp |
| ISBN | 9780805019643 |
| OCLC | 25205387 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H4364 Le 1992[2] |
Letters From Rifka is a children's historical novel by Karen Hesse, published by Holt in 1992. It features a Jewish family's emigration from Russia in 1919, to Belgium and ultimately to the U.S., from the perspective of daughter Rifka, based on the personal account by Hesse's great-aunt Lucille Avrutin.[3]
Hesse and Letters won the 2012 Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association, recognizing the best children's book published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award.[4] Among contemporary honors it won the 1993 National Jewish Book Award in category Children's Literature.[5]
The protagonist's name, Rifka, is the East European Jewish version of Rebecca (Rivká in Modern Israeli Hebrew).
Plot
During the Russian Civil War of 1919, Rifka and her family must flee Russia because the Russian army are after her brothers. She tells her story in a series of letters to a cousin named Tovah who remains behind in Russia, written in the blank spaces of an edition of Pushkin's poetry. Rifka, her parents, and her brothers Nathan and Saul, escape Russia, hoping to join the three older sons who have been living in America for years. Along the way, they face cruel officials, Her Mom, Dad and older brother catch typhus, hunger, theft, Rifka gets a skin disease ringworm, and a that threatens to keep Rifka from ever joining her family. She is constantly reminded she must be clever and brave, but her true salvation can only come when she learns compassion. She goes to Belgium where people are kind to Jewish people. Later on, She is basically cured and can leave. When she is free to leave and on the boat to America, Rifka falls in love with Pieter, a sailor. They have fun and laugh. When a violent storm kills him, Rifka is depressed and ready to go home.She has lost all hope. She goes to Ellis island, and it turns out a bit of ringworm is coming back. She can't go to America yet. While she is stranded at Ellis Island, she finds she has a talent for nursing and for literature.On Ellis island Rifka meets a new friend named Ilya, but he first does not talk to her. He won't eat, so everyone thinks he's a simpleton. When Rifka makes friends with him, she discovers how smart he actually is. She helps him understand that his uncle is not cruel and wants him to come to America because he loves Ilya, and Ilya reads from Rifka's Pushkin poetry book. He passes the "Test" and makes it to America. Rifka gets over her ringworm, and gets to America.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews called it "an unforgettable picture of immigrant courage, ingenuity, and perseverance."[6] while Publishers Weekly wrote "Hesse's vivacious tale colorfully and convincingly refreshes the immigrant experience."[7]
References
- ↑ Letters from Rifka. Google Books. Retrieved 2013-03-03. With linked preview, pages 1–15.
- ↑ "Letters from Rifka / Karen Hesse". Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ Karen Hesse, "Author's Note", Letters from Rifka (Puffin Books, 1993; ISBN 0140363912), pp. ix–x.
- ↑ "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012". Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
See also the current homepage, "Phoenix Award". - ↑ "NJBA Winners". Jewish Books Council. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ "Letters from Rifka". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Media LLC. 15 July 1992. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ↑ "Letters from Rivka". www.publishersweekly.com. PWxyz LLC. Retrieved 27 September 2015.