Title: Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl
Illustrator: Marissa Moss
Readability Score: 5.2
Theme: moving towards a better life for oneself
Genre: Non-Fiction
Sub genre: Diversity
Primary and secondary characters: Hannah is the primary and the secondary characters are her family members
Awards: N/A
Publishing Company: Harcourt, Inc.
Date of Publication: 2000
ISBN: 0-15-202155-8
Summary: This book is told from Hannah's point of view. It is dated on her birthday which is, September 27, 1901, in Lithuania and is the first entry of her journal. She is ten years old and she is given the journal to write in by her father, Papashka. He knew how much she wanted to learn even though she can't go to school with her brothers. She can now learn Hebrew and Russian by the help of her older siblings. She has three older brothers, one younger brother, and two younger sisters. In her journal she writes about how she wants to go to school, but it is only for boys and her family cannot afford a tutor for her. She also receives the opportunity to go to America. She describes boarding a ship which is large enough to hold dozens of trains and people. By the end of the journal, Hannah writes that she loves America and she is beginning to start a life for herself. She is able to work and most importantly, go to school.
I think this book is a good resource to use in the classroom because it provides an insight into the life of an immigrant girl to America. Her family wanted a better life for her, as well as Hannah, and she was given the chance to learn and go to school. Students can see through her entries how times were back in the 1900s and how not everyone had the chance to do the same things. They also can see how the diversity of America became prevalent at the start of immigration. They can write their own entries in a journal as if they were first coming to America.
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