Synopses & Reviews
In an ancient forest near their home, Ida and Sammy picked wild berries for breakfast and wild mushrooms for soup. But a terrible war was being waged throughout their land.
Ida and Sammy and baby Ruthie were in great danger.
In 1921, the children's mother and father decided they all must flee. Despite the risks of travel, they knew that their best hope for a new life lay far away in America.
This intensely personal yet universal story tells vividly of the losses suffered and hopes that triumphed. With great variety, the pictures reflect a full range of changing emotions. Accurate in every detail, they portray the times in a way that gives readers the unforgettable sense of being present during the struggle, and witnessing one family's enduring spirit.
Synopsis
The author/illustrator tells the true story about how her family left difficult conditions in Poland in 1921 to make a better life for themselves in America. The prose tells vividly of the family's losses and hopes, and the pictures reflect a full range of changing emotions.
About the Author
Patricia Lauber is the highly acclaimed author of, among others,
Volcano, a Newbery Honor Book, and
Flood, a
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Her fascination with horses began in childhood, when she loved to read about them. She learned to ride, and at the age of twelve spent a memorable summer on a ranch in New Mexico. Patricia Lauber lives with her husband in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Rosalyn Schanzer has written and illustrated several outstanding children's books, including her How We Crossed the West, which received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, and, most recently, Gold Fever! As a child, she always enjoyed reading stories about horses. By the time the artist was twelve years old, she'd read all of the Black Stallion books, by Walter Farley; then she studied the muscle structures of horses so that she could draw them herself. Rosalyn Schanzer lives with her husband, Steve, their children, Adam and Kim, and their family dog, Jones, in Fairfax Station, Virginia.
Patricia Lauber and Rosalyn Schanzer recently collaborated on The True-or-False Book of Cats, which School Library Journal called "A delightful look at the behavior of these popular pets ... A book that will frequently stray from the shelf."