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Letters from Rifka Henry Holt, 1992, ISBN 0-8050-1964-2
Ages 8 and up
This story takes place immediately following World War I during 1919-1920. It is based on the true story of Lucy Avrutin, Karen Hesse's aunt, who with her family escaped from Berdichev, Russia, across the Ukraine, through Poland, and eventually to America. Rifka and her family are Jewish and were being persecuted by both the Russian government and the Russian peasants. Rifka's family traveled on to America, but Rifka, due to ringworm, stayed on alone in Antwerp for seven months at the young age of thirteen, under the care of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Hesse writes this story using the literary device of letters, never sent, written by Rifka to her beloved cousin Tovah back in Berdichev. Because Rifka carried little with her when she escaped from Russia, the letters are written inside a treasured book of poetry by Alexander...