The Castle on Hester Street

(Heller, Linda. The Castle on Hester Street. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1982.)

The Castle on Hester Street follows the story of a young Jewish girl listening to her grandparents explain how they arrived in America from Russia. Julie’s grandfather tells an elaborate, over the top depiction of their voyage to American and life once here. Her grandmother keeps her grandfather grounded by explaining how it really was to arrive in New York City as an immigrant.
The illustrations in the grandfather’s depiction of the events were bright and exciting, while her grandmothers depictions were gloomier. Heller leaves the reader wondering whose depiction is correct. This story includes aspects of the Jewish faith in subtle doses. People that are not Jewish could easily relate to this book because many immigrant families went through the same hard times to survive as the characters in this book. It gives insight into the struggles not only of the Jewish immigrants, but what immigrants from all backgrounds faced while coming to America during the 1920s and 1930s.
Heller’s, Sydney Taylor book Award winner, tells the story about Jewish people from Russia where they left because they were being persecuted and attacked. He does not depict Jewish people in a negative or overly positive way. It just shows that this family is just like any other immigrant family struggling to survive so that future generations can live a better life.