(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elisa Vavouri. During the Great Depression, Pavel, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, plants trees with the Civilian Conservation Corps and gets to know other Americans from different cultures; some are more welcoming than others. This historical-fiction picture book’s text provides an accessible entry point to this element of history and to themes of assimilation; colorful, textured illustrations are eye-catching, if slightly uneven.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) 4-6 Immigrant Experiences series. This series provides general glimpses into many immigrant groups' struggles in the U.S. Vignettes (with direct quotes) of real immigrants striving for citizenship and acceptance in America add intimacy and impact to the presentation; frank discussions of discrimination are included. Photographs extend the narratives. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Immigrant Experiences titles: Catholic Immigrants, Indian Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, Central American Immigrants, Jewish Immigrants, Russian Immigrants, Filipino Immigrants and Muslim Immigrants

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) K-3 Growing up in Russia, left-handed Anya is forced to use her right hand. But she refuses to use it for drawing, her special talent, and imagines she's in a secret society with famous left-handed or ambidextrous artists. When Anya immigrates to the U.S., she can use her left hand freely and becomes an artist herself--as demonstrated by this whimsically illustrated picture book based on the author/illustrator's childhood.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) YA Upon adolescence, the women in Ruby Chernyavsky's matrilineal Russian American family have the power to see their own deaths. One of Ruby's older sisters gave her "the talk" when she was eleven, their mother having left when the girls were younger. Now Ruby is nearly seventeen, and Mom is back--but can she be trusted? A sense of menace runs throughout Podos's eerie, folklore-inflected tale, and her characters are well drawn.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(1) 4-6 Color by Alec Longstreth. Brosgol's fictionalized graphic memoir captures the ups and downs of Russian American preteen Vera's stint at a Russian Orthodox summer camp. She struggles with strict rules, lack of modern conveniences, and drama involving her older tentmates. The tone is accessible, vulnerable, and hilariously kid-centric. A monochromatic army-green palette reinforces the natural setting in the smartly paced panels, and a cliffhanger ending hints at a possible sequel.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David C. Gardner. In 1893, a fearful five-year-old Russian-Jewish boy named Israel arrives on Ellis Island. Renamed Irving Berlin, his life story and contributions to American music as a composer are simply and engagingly told. Lighthearted watercolor illustrations underscore the story's action and musicality; a final picture shows Berlin gazing once again at the Statue of Liberty at age 101. An author's note and suggested songs are appended. Reading list.

Reviewer: Christina Dorr

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Rob Polivka. Russian-Jewish composer Irving Berlin immigrated to New York as a child and had a successful songwriting career, including penning the patriotic "God Bless America." This free-verse biography outlines Berlin's life but unfortunately reserves most details for a lengthy author's note. Nuchi cleverly incorporates sounds to express emotions and actions ("a boom-rah-rah song"), while Polivka's detailed illustrations capture early-to-mid-twentieth-century American scenes. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 On a starry night, Patricia's babushka shares that she'll soon leave through "holes in the sky" and promises to watch over them from heaven. After Babushka's passing, Patricia and her family move to Oakland. There she meets African American Stewart and his grandma, Miss Eula (from Chicken Sunday), who becomes Patricia's stand-in grandmother. Based on Polacco's childhood, this is an emotively illustrated tribute to grandmothers both lost and found.

Reviewer: Monique Harris

(3) YA High-school senior Charlotte idolizes her father, a journalist who "specializes in devastation," traveling to places that have been ravaged by natural disasters. When he is kidnapped while reporting on an earthquake in Ukraine, Charlotte struggles to connect with her withdrawn Russian mother. A quiet and sensitive story that taps into the heart of grief, familial relationships, and the healing power of art.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(2) 4-6 Fourteen-year-old Rose is a member of a traditional Russian Jewish family living in 1915 El Paso. After she spots her missing brother in a photo of the "notorious gang of Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa," she tries to persuade him to come home. The novel complicates the plucky-girl trope and places it within a combination of cultures not often seen in historical fiction.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2017

(3) YA This gripping historical verse novel is based on the life of Clara Lemlich, a Russian Jewish immigrant who worked tirelessly to help unionize and establish rights for fellow young women factory employees in the early twentieth century. Clara's driven and emotional voice radiates strength amid her doubts, fears, conflicts, and conviction to create a more equal world for women.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) 4-6 Connect: U.S. Immigration in the 1900s series. Eleven-year-old Emma narrates the arduous journey from Ukraine to America as she and her family make their way to North Dakota in 1910, fleeing the discrimination they face as ethnic Germans in Czarist Russia. The narrative is unsubtly curriculum-oriented but fulfills its stated goal of putting a human face on the context for and challenges of early-1900s immigration to the U.S.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) 4-6 The sight of America fills twelve-year-old Sarah, a Russian immigrant, with hope, but that changes when her mother dies on Ellis Island. Alone and in New York City illegally, Sarah finds refuge first inside the Statue of Liberty and then on the Lower East Side. Sarah's adventure is engaging, but the many people she encounters are undeveloped. Historical notes are included. Timeline.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(2) 4-6 In 1953 small-town Vermont, fifth grader Hazel Kaplansky is friendless until a stranger, Samuel Butler, comes to town. The kids team up in hopes of catching the Russian spy who is reputed to be operating in their town. The sense of the time period is seamlessly portrayed, and the limited third-person narrative allows readers to see Hazel's superciliousness as well as her insecurities.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(3) 4-6 Esther's father loses his job in the midst of the Great Depression and sees moving to the country as the family's only hope. Farm life is far from idyllic, and Esther longs for some show of love from her distant, superstitious Russian-immigrant mother. The family's poverty and hardships are nicely woven into a story of family love lost and found.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kathryn Brown. Young Nora, newly transplanted to the American prairie, misses her native Russia. She longs for a friend but is too shy to make one until one of her beloved chicks is found and returned to her by a neighbor girl. The simply told story is adorned with open, soft, evocative watercolor illustrations that nicely capture setting, character, and mood.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Jana Christy. When eleven-year-old Masha wakes up with plastic flowers glued to her head, she knows it's the work of an evil genius: her six-year-old sister, Sunny. This crazy experiment-gone-wrong is followed by a string of unbelievable antics (e.g., a cast for an unbroken arm). Although the sisters' experiences are over the top, readers will enjoy Masha's witty voice; black-and-white illustrations showcase the hijinks.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(2) K-3 In this sort-of prequel to The Keeping Quilt, Polacco's great-grandmother Anna and her family are forced to leave Russia during the pogroms. They take with them a treasured "magic" tea set: "Anyone who drinks from it has a blessing from God." The understated telling is beautifully supported and extended in art rendered in soft gray pencil that harkens back to Polacco's early work.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2013

(4) K-3 Cloverleaf Books: Holidays and Special Days series. Illustrated by Constanza Basaluzzo. Emma's story reflects her family's African American and Russian American heritage (no mention that Russian Orthodox Easter usually falls on a different date than other Christian sects). Rashad and his Muslim family observe Ramadan. Sarah prepares for her role in asking the "Four Questions." Bright, cheerful illustrations will draw readers to these simple introductions; text boxes provide more details than the young narrators do. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Cloverleaf Books: Holidays and Special Days titles: Emma's Easter, Rashad's Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, and Sarah's Passover.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(1) YA Anya falls into an abandoned well. There she meets Emily, who's been dead and trapped inside for ninety years. When Anya is rescued, Emily goes too. Having a ghost for a best friend is "awesome"--at first. Brosgol portrays teenage relationships with a subtle touch throughout this graphic novel. Approachable art in black, white, and indigo enhances the wryly hilarious (and occasionally spine-tingling) story.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011