Most Americans will not immediately associate Galveston, Texas, with Jewish history. Yet this port city was once the destination for thousands of Jewish immigrants. Between 1907 and 1914, philanthropist Jacob Schiff funded the Galveston Plan, designed to bring Jews fleeing the pogroms of Europe to the United States. While East Coast cities had much larger Jewish populations, housing was less congested in Galveston and the Midwestern towns which eventually became home to these immigrants. A Place Called Galveston evokes both the difficulties and the promise of this lesser-known Jewish American experience.
Andrea Shapiro’s text is an unusual melding of off-rhyme metric lines and prose: “Eyes brimming with tears, hearts frozen in fear,/we gathered together by soft Sabbath light.” The text conveys a sense of specific events that might be unfamiliar but are nonetheless part of the broader panorama of Jewish history. Poverty, oppression, and violence were strong motivations to embark on a long voyage to an uncertain future. Class consciousness emerges from the observation that on board ship, some passengers enjoy the luxury of “steak and ice cream in fine dining rooms,” while the Galveston-bound Jews sleep on straw beds in steerage.
All immigrants arrive in a strange place. Even its attractions, such as cars, trollies, and mansions, may seem vaguely menacing. Fortunately, the Galveston community, whether transient or permanent, has the support of Rabbi Henry Cohen. Not only does he speak Yiddish, but also he conveys empathy and strength. Shapiro portrays Rabbi Cohen as a kind of quiet hero, ensuring a minimal level of physical comfort to the new arrivals, and also connecting them to others who can offer help. Some of this assistance takes the form of job placement. Not every Midwestern state could absorb Jewish cobblers, tailors, or blacksmiths; a high level of coordinated effort was necessary.
Valerya Milovanova’s illustrations combine sepia and gray with touches of brighter colors. Using minimal detail, she brings out characters’ emotional responses to their situation through upturned mouths, quizzical eyebrows, and fearful dreams enclosed in clouds. The illustrations match the poetry of the text; both express how individuals are influenced but are not defined by their historical circumstances. Every person in the book struggles with loneliness, but also knows the joy of finding safety and, at best, encouraging family members across the ocean to join them. Young readers will learn about the best that the United States has represented to Jews and others in flight from adversity toward hope.
A Place Called Galveston is highly recommended and includes an afterword with historical background.
Emily Schneider writes about literature, feminism, and culture for Tablet, The Forward, The Horn Book, and other publications, and writes about children’s books on her blog. She has a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures.
