Europe Books

Anya (Annushka) and her little sister Tanya live with their grandparents in Russia. Each day, they work with their grandparents on the farm and await news from their father in America.

Papa's letter was filled with funny pictures. There were drawingsof the doll factory where he worked and of the pigeons on his roof.

He wrote, "People say the streets here are paved with gold. I am saving money to buy steamship tickes for Anya and Tanya."

That's when Tanya started crying. "First Mama died and went to heaven. Then Papa left for America."

I put my arms around her and wiped away her tears. "He'll send for us soon, you'll see."

Early each morning, even before it was light, we worked around the farm. In the afternoons we helped Grandma make puddings and potato pancakes. Before bed we had Hebrew lessons with Grandpa. And we waited.

After more than a year, two steamship tickets came in the mail with a letter from Papa telling us he'd meet us in New York.

Anya and Tanya soon travel from the old country in Russia toward the promise of a new life in America. Although they must leave their Grandparents and the life they know behind, they carry with them the clothes on their back, a pair of candlesticks---family heirlooms, a book of Russian fairy tales and a ragdoll.

Custom and tradition are woven through this wonderful tale of two young Jewish emigrants who go off to America alone, first crossing Europe on a train to Holland and then sailing toward "the land of opportunity" in a gigantic steamship. Through Annushka, her hopes and fears, this heartwarming story offers amazing insight into emigrant passage to America.

"As soon as we got off the train, we were sent to a big building to be examined by doctors. There were so many people speaking so many different languages."

"We kept going down, down, down, until we reached the basement of the ship. It was dark and scary, especially with the engines running."

In ANNUSHKA'S VOYAGE, author Edie Tarbescu effectively relates to children the important story of American Immigration in the late 1800s. Mixed with both adventure and history, Annushka's story is a delightful read. Lydia Dabcovich's expressive illustrations and the author's historical note make this story come alive. Although this book stands on its own, I must point out that it is an essential read for anyone (adults and children, alike) who is fortunate enough to learn about or visit the Statue of Liberty and/or pass through the Ellis Island gates. Writers Moon reViews (WritersMoon@aol.com) P.O. Box 182, Nesconset, NY 11767-0182 Copyright (c) 2000 Lynne Remick (LynnRemick@aol.com) Reprinted with permission from Lynne Remick =============================================

I arrived in prague without a hotel reservation, and I looked at several of the hotels on the list, looking for a room. I found Avant Guide to be right on the money regarding price, atmosphere, and room quality.

I would recommend this book to anyone who prefers not to follow the stream of tourists from one trap to another. Bravo!!!

I'm awaiting the London edition anxiously.

Brooks neatly divides the story of Joan in half, with the first six chapters starting with Joan's life in the village of Domremy and ending with the crowing of Charles the Dauphin as King of France, and the last six depicting Joan's fall from glory, trial, and execution. Brooks emphasizes that the situations that brought about her martyrdom were beyond Joan's control and details the political calculations that ended up putting her in the hands of the English. However, as Brooks emphasizes, though the English burned Joan's body to ashes they could not wipe out the memory of her deeds from the French people. I appreciate that Brooks makes it clear to her readers how the effort's to restore Joan's name and honor after the English left France were just as politically motivated as the trial that condemned her.

This young adult biography is illustrated with historic prints and paintings, including a sketch by a clerk of his idea of Joan drawn in the margin of his report, as well as contemporary photographs of historic sites, such as Joan's stone-and-rubble house in Domremy and the statue on the post were she was burned at the stake in the marketplace at Rouen. Brooks has also written similar biographies of Eleanor of Acquitaine and Cleopatra. However, as Brooks notes, although more books about Joan have been inspired than any other women in history, she remains an enigma. In "Beyond the Myth," Brooks tries to answer the key questions concerning Joan's life and to restore her humanity, which in the final analysis, Brooks sees as being her greatest virtue. For students who are ready to get beyond your basic juvenile biographies of Joan of Arc, this is a thoughtful volume to which to turn next.

Ms. Brooks concise biography of Joan, marketed toward "young adults," makes me feel sure that I must be young again! It exactly suits me.

The Joan that emerges from these pages is an entirely believable, if extraordinary, human being. It is written at a perfectly intelligent level, is measured in its judgments, provides historical and social context, and is never dogmatic. It seems careful throughout and provides a bibliography. And it is ~very~ engaging. What's not to like?

I proudly place this work for "young adults" on my shelves and will, in the future, look more deliberately for work in this category.

I have an interest in French history but a regular life as well, not endless expanses of time for huge historical tomes. I was extremely pleased with the return this book gave me for a modest investment of time. And nobody has accused me lately of not being a full-fledged adult ;-)

Although it may be easy enough to dismiss this as simply a children's novel, I would say that, given enough suspension of disbelief & a little imagination, this can be a thoroughly enjoying read, and (cliche) a book that you will want to keep coming back to, time & again, even if only for some of the amusing anecdottes presented by Thermal.