An Ellis Island Christmas

A moving story about one family's daring journey from Poland to America and their hope for a better future in their new home. Krysia does not want to leave her home and her friend, Michi, but there are soldiers with guns on the streets and her mother says that they must go. Krysia, her two brothers, and her mother pack their favorite belongings and begin the long, harrowing journey to America. Krysia is scared but she finds courage when she thinks of her father waiting for her in America with the promise of a better tomorrow. Inspired by Maxinne Rhea Leighton's father's journey from Poland to America, this is a powerful reminder of the beacon of hope and opportunity that Ellis Island symbolized and the importance of family at Christmastime.

The experiences of people coming to the United States from many different lands are conveyed in the words of a contemporary young girl visiting Ellis Island and of a girl who immigrated in about 1910, as well as by quotes from early twentieth century immigrants and Ellis Island officials.

Located not far from the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island played a major role in American history. More than 16 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954. This curriculum-based eBook discusses Ellis Island and what it was like to be an immigrant in America during the period in which it was open. Bolstered by extensive photographs and a chronology, Ellis Island and the Immigrant Experience is ideal for students writing reports.

Burdened with bundles and baskets, a million or more immigrant children passed through the often grim halls of Ellis Island. Having left behind their homes in Europe and other parts of the world, they made the voyage to America by steamer. Some came with parents or guardians. A few came as stowaways. But however they traveled, they found themselves a part of one of the grandest waves of human migration that the world has ever known. Children of Ellis Island explores this lost world and what it was like for an uprooted youngster at America’s golden door. Highlights include the experience of being a detained child at Ellis Island—the schooling and games, the pastimes and amusements, the friendships, and the uneasiness caused by language barriers.

Educational resource for teachers, parents and kids!

Contains transcripts of interviews with over one hundred of the last surviving immigrants who came through Ellis Island to America, and includes conversations with six employees of the island in which they discuss their duties and experiences.