Five Stories

Gr 1-4–Weinstein shows readers how one small place in New York has changed over time. The story begins with Jenny Epstein in 1914 and talks about why her family emigrated from Russia, what kind of work they did when they arrived, as well as the kinds of hopes and dreams they had for themselves. The story leapfrogs ahead to 1932, where Jenny is a teacher and she’s walking to school with one of her students, who now lives in the same apartment building where Jenny and her family had lived. The illustration shows how some of the businesses have changed while others have stayed the same. The text is short but specific, giving readers the opportunity to consider their own families’ movements across the country or the world. The artwork adds another layer of understanding to the role of immigrants in a community, showing different businesses moving in and out of the retail spaces, varying with the needs of the community and the cultural tastes of the people who live there, and some of the pictures will give sharp-eyed readers a clue as to what happened to the children who grew on the street.