Tag Archives: Italy

Jun17

JUST LOVED READING: My America: Home at Last, Sofia’s Immigrant Dairy, Book Two

Posted on June 17, 2018 by marion

JUST LOVED READING: My America: Home at Last, Sofia’s Immigrant Dairy, Book Two

Just Loved Reading:

My America: Home at Last, Sofia’s Immigrant Dairy, Book Two

Middle Grade Novel

Lasky, Kathryn. My America: Home at Last, Sofia’s Immigrant Dairy, Book Two. New York: Scholastic, 2003.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

EMMA LAZARUS

Sofia Monaris is released from quarantine on Ellis Island and moves to Boston’s North End with her family.

She learns a new language and slowly adjusts to a new culture and way doing things. Learning a new language means going to an American school, making new friends and adjusting to new teachers.

Sofia makes friends with a fellow Italian-American and joins one of their social clubs. In the meantime, Sofia’s older sister and younger brother have adjustments of their own to grapple with.

Her family encounters the good and bad in Boston’s Italian-American family. Her parents work hard to make ends meet but take advantage of any and all opportunities that come their way.

When near tragedy strikes Sofia, her courage and spunk carry the day.

WHY I LOVED READING THIS BOOK:

Sofia is a spunky character who could probably survive many difficult situations and it was easy to relate to her and her adventures in America.

Further Reading:

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island:

https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org

Italy:

www.italia.it

Jun4

JUST LOVED READING: My America: Hope in My Heart, Sofia’s Ellis Island Immigrant Dairy, Book One.

Posted on June 4, 2018 by marion

JUST LOVED READING: My America: Hope in My Heart, Sofia’s Ellis Island Immigrant Dairy, Book One.

Just Loved Reading:

My America: Hope in My Heart, Sofia’s Ellis Island Immigrant Dairy, Book One.

Middle Grade Novel

Lasky, Kathryn. My America: Hope in My Heart, Sofia’s Ellis Island Immigrant Dairy, Book One. New York: Scholastic, 2003.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Emma Lazarus

Sofia Monaris and her family leave their native Italy for America. It’s a long uncomfortable journey on board a ship teeming with people yet Sofia’s heart skips a beat when she spies the Statue of Liberty on the horizon.

As the ship draws closer to New York harbor, she positions herself to get a better look. A cinder gets in her eye. When the family goes through customs, Sofia is diagnosed with trachoma and quarantined.

Separated from her family for the first time in her life, speaking very little English, Sofia feels isolated and alienated in America. She has company, though. In the state-run hospital, she meets Maureen who is from Ireland and Madame Coco from France. Madame introduces the girls to Rafi, a gypsy stow-away. The four befriend each other during their ordeal as they face mean anti-immigrant bureaucrats and which lasts longer than any of them would like.

Sofia’s life in America had just begun.

WHY I LOVED READING THIS BOOK:

Although my immigrant ancestors didn’t arrive until years after Sofia and her family came to America, I heard many of their stories. Many struggled in their first years and many came illegally. They had to navigate America’s ever-changing immigration laws but they became found work, became American citizens and raised their families.

Not every story was about those struggles; some of their stories were funny and uplifting. Sofia is a spunky character who could probably survive many difficult situations and it was easy to relate to her and her adventures on Ellis Island.

Further Reading:

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island:

https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org

Italy:

www.italia.it

Italy:

www.italia.it

Apr10

JUST LOVED READING: The Royal Diaries: Mary, Queen of Scots

Posted on April 10, 2018 by marion

JUST LOVED READING: The Royal Diaries: Mary, Queen of Scots

Just Loved Reading:

The Royal Diaries: Mary, Queen of Scots

Middle Grade Novel

Lasky, Kathryn. The Royal Diaries: Mary, Queen of Scots, Queen without a Country. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2002

“I am a princess. All girls are; even if they live in tiny old attics, even if they dress in rags, even if they aren’t pretty or smart or young, they’re still princesses.”

Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scots when she was nine months old after the death of her father King James V. When she was 5, political conflicts forced her to leave her mother and flee Scotland. Mary went to live in the royal court of King Henry and Queen Catherine de Medici of France. In order for Scotland to forge an alliance with France (and send a message to England), the powers-that-be betrothed Mary to Francis, the sickly son of Henry and the treacherous Queen Catherine de Medici.

Mary’s journal begins in 1553 when she is 11 years old and ends a year later.

The diary relates a year in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots a year packed with parties, visits to castles, playing with her Ladies-in-Waiting (all four of whom are also named Mary) and her betrothed, Francis, academic and music lessons and court intrigue. She muses about marriage to Francis and her attraction to her royal Scots guardsman. Mary is smart, athletic and loves the arts. She is also impulsive and we get a hint of the trait which will ultimately lead to her demise at the hands of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England.

WHY I LOVED READING THIS BOOK:

The story of Mary Queen of Scots takes place during two important historical periods: the Renaissance and the Reformation. Both movements influence Mary’s life and thoughts as she grows into womanhood. A devout Catholic, she becomes aware of the influence John Knox and the Protestant Reformation has on her native Scotland. She muses if she will exercise tolerance of religious dissent when she returns to her native land. Yes she tells herself but we now know only time will tell.

Living in the French royal court affords Mary many of the refinements of the arts: music lessons, poetry and more. She is not unaware of this when she reflects that in Spain none of these refinements are found in its royal court. Indeed, the Spanish seem obsessed with the Inquisition and nothing else she writes in her diary. Mary gives credit to Queen Catherine for bringing many of the arts from Italy.

We will never know what the real Mary Stuart thought and felt at the age of eleven but the Royal Diaries gives us an idea especially since history tells us how the rest of her life transpires.

FOR FURTHER READING:

https://www.scotland.org

https://www.visitscotland.com

www.localhistories.org/scotland.html

https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/history-scotland