1.

Title: Letters from Rifka

2. Author: Karen Hesse
3. Publication date: 1992
4. Genre: historical fiction
5. Reading Level: 4.2
6. Publisher: Square Fish
7. Summary: Letters from Rifka is a book about a Russian family that escape Russia
because of the difficult situations they were experiencing in her native country.
8. Review:
The purpose of Letters from Rifka tells a story of a family and their struggles while
leaving the country. The author takes the reader in the journey that the family live and
have to experience before arriving to America. The storys plot is well organized. It is
told from Rifkas point of view. The author demonstrates Rifkas feeling regarding the
families situation through the words she writes in her poetry book. Hesse also creates
intense moments in book, when Rifka cannot leave with her family because she catches
ringworms. Hesse targets young reader ranging in ages between ten to fourteen years-old.
Additionally, Hesse provides the reader with the interview where the story derived from
making the story and author more credible. Brooklyn Bridge, is another book Hesse wrote
that relates to the topic of immigration.