Home at last

Format:

Book

Title:

Home at last

Author:

Lasky, Kathryn.

ISBN:

9780439449632

9780439206440

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

108 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Series title(s):

Sofia's immigrant diary ;

My America.

Number in series:

BK. 2.

General Note:

Sequel to: Hope in my heart.

Sequel: An American spring.

Summary:

In 1903, ten-year-old Sofia and her family begin their life in America in Boston, where her father works in a grocery, her mother sells pasta, and she goes to school while trying to stay in touch with her old friend Maureen. Includes historical notes.

Subject(s):

Immigrants -- Juvenile fiction.

Italian Americans -- Juvenile fiction.

Diaries -- Juvenile fiction.

Immigrants -- Fiction.

Italian Americans -- Fiction.

Diaries -- Fiction.

Boston (Mass.) -- History -- 1865- -- Juvenile fiction.

Boston (Mass.) -- History -- 1865- -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Boston (Mass.) -- History -- 1865- -- Juvenile fiction.

Boston (Mass.) -- History -- 1865- -- Fiction.

Massachusetts -- Boston

Genre:

Diaries -- Juvenile fiction.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Stayton Public Library	JF DEAR HOME	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Kathryn Lasky brings readers the second installment of Sofia's Ellis Island Diary, depicting Sofia's move to the North End of Boston and her first steps as a new American.

After her dramatic release from quarantine and reunion with her family, Sofia moves to the North End of Boston, where the Monaris start their new lives in their new country. While her parents struggle to make ends meet, Sofia must adjust to her American school, friends and job.

Author Notes

Kathryn Lasky was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 24, 1944, and knew she wanted to be a writer from the time she was ten. She majored in English in college and after graduation wrote for various magazines and taught. Her first book, I Have Four Names for My Grandfather, was published while she was teaching.

She has written more than seventy books for children and young adults on everything from historical fiction to picture books and nonfiction books including the Dear America books and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. Many of her books are illustrated with photographs by her husband, Christopher Knight. She has received many awards for her titles including Sugaring Time which was a Newberry Honor Book; The Night Journey which won the National Jewish Book Award for Children; Pageant which was an ALA Notable Children's book; and Beyond the Burning Time which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. She has also received the Washington Post's Children's Book Guild Award for her contribution to children's nonfiction. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-4-In Hope in My Heart, nine-year-old Sofia and her family arrive in America from Italy in 1903. The child is immediately put in quarantine on Ellis Island, where she remains throughout the book. In Home, Sofia finally settles with her family in Boston, eventually adjusting to her new life. Language and writing style in the protagonist's brief, readable diary entries flow smoothly from one to another. Each story ends with notes about the setting. Good choices for historical fiction fans, including reluctant readers.-Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

Mishoo, a prehistoric girl, became her clan's Dream Catcher after her mother's death. During a drought, she is drawn to the cave of the she-tiger and inspired to create paintings on its walls. The wordy prose is occasionally awkward ("I crawl through a tunnel for the lengths of more hunting men than my hands have fingers"), but the deep-toned illustrations re-creating cave paintings are evocative. From HORN BOOK Spring 2004, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Reviewed with Kathryn Lasky's Hope in My Heart. Gr. 3-6. An Italian immigrant child writes her diary in these two small books that are part of the My America series. Hope in My Heart is the most dramatic. After the family finally arrives at Ellis Island, nine-year-old Sofia is separated from her parents and quarantined. Terrified, angry, and knowing almost no English, she is at the mercy of officials and doctors, some of whom are prejudiced and corrupt. Only her friendship with an Irish girl and the support of a kind official and a priest make her life bearable, until her heartfelt reunion with her family. Home at Last is a conventional account of Italian Americans who struggle and eventually make it in the North End community of Boston. A teacher makes a huge difference, as does a doctor, whose character is based on a real person, Lasky's husband's grandfather. As is often the case with books in this series, the diary format is an awkward contrivance, but it certainly makes the tale more immediate. A historical note and archival photos add to the story. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2003 Booklist