Molly's Pilgrim

I read Molly’s Pilgrim with my 8 year daughter as part of a school assignment. We loved how it reminded us that each one of us has a unique story. Instead of making (new) friends feel different, it’s a privilege to get to know your friend or neighbor. Infortunately, one of Molly’s classmates thinks Molly has no understanding of “Thanksgiving” and makes her feel different. I enjoyed that this book is based on a real life event and how Molly’s classmates find out that her Jewish family celebrates the Jewish harvest holiday of Tabernacles. Molly’s smart teacher helps the classmates understand that Molly’s traditions are not as different as they seem to believe.

Molly is a young, Jewish immigrant from Russia, who moves to Winter Hill where she is a black sheep among the rest of her classmates. They tease her, and call her names, making fun of her voice, and her eyes, and anything else that they could possibly think of to make fun of her. When Miss Stickley, Molly's third-grade teacher, begins teaching the class about Thanksgiving, Molly is lost. That is, until she finds that Thanksgiving is an American holiday where everyone is grateful for what they have. The problem? Molly doesn't feel thankful. In fact, the only thing that would make her thankful is if her family could move back to New York City, and that won't be happening anytime soon. When Miss Stickley informs the class that they must make pilgrim dolls, Molly is excited to do the project. But when she finds that her mother has made the doll look more like a Russian immigrant, rather than a pilgrim, Molly knows that her troubles at school are about to get worse. But maybe...just maybe, the little Pilgrim is exactly what Molly needs... It is rare that a book as short as Barbara Cohen's MOLLY'S PILGRIM could bring out such strong emotions in the reader, but that is exactly what it did. The character of Molly is sweet, and kind, and the way she is treated at school could bring tears to anyone's eyes, even if you aren't a crier by nature. The awful songs that Molly's classmates sing about her will choke everyone up, but, at the same time, let the reader feel exactly how people who are "different" are treated. This is a wonderful story that will warm everyone's heart, and teach the whole family about the first Thanksgiving. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Molly's Pilgrim is the best book! Molly is a little Jewish girl from Russia. She doesn't like to go to school because the girls are teasing her. There are no other Jewish girls at Winter Hill and they think she looks and talks different. She wishes she could go back to Russia or even New York City. Molly had an assignment to make a clothespin Pilgrim doll. Her mom made it to look like herself-because mama sees herself as a Pilgrim from Russia. Molly thinks the doll is beautiful but is also ashamed of the doll because she doesn't think it is a real Pilgrim. She brings it to school and hides it in her desk. When Elizabeth and her friends see it, they make fun of it. Molly explains to Miss Stickly that her mother made the doll to look like her because she came from Russia for freedom just like the Pilgrims. Miss Stickly praises it and puts it in a special place on her desk. This makes Molly proud. We loved this book!! By Mrs. Lee's 1st and 2nd Grade Red Group at Nike Elementary!

Molly's Pilgrim is an excellent story of the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Molly has just moved to America from Russia, and is not enjoying it one bit. Kids in her third grade class make fun of her all the time because of her clothes and accent. She can't stand it, especially her worst enemy, Elizabeth. When Molly's class starts a project on Thanksgiving, they are told to make a doll. When Molly tells her mother this, her mother makes a doll for her, and the doll looks exactly the way her mother did when she was a girl. Her mother tells her that the Pilgrims fled England because they wanted to practice their religion freely, this is exactly what Molly's parents did, making them Pilgrims. That day, Molly takes it to school, but it looks very different from everyone else's. The children make fun of her, but they have a very big lesson to learn; the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Anyone will enjoy this story, old or young, because many can relate to it.

The only negative thing I can think of to say about this book is that when I read it aloud, I have a very hard time not crying. It is a short and simple story (longer than a picture book, but an adult can read it aloud in one sitting, and most second or third graders could read it to themselves), but one of the most moving children's books I know of. Molly is a turn of the century Jewish immigrant girl from Russia. She lives in a small town, where no one understands her, and other children make fun of her clothes, and accent and her ignorance of American customs. In November, her classmates are appalled that she has never heard of Thanksgiving. But as we get to know Molly better, we, and eventually her classmates, realize that this child, who left her country and moved to America so that she and her family could practice their religion without fear is no different from the first pilgrims. By the time they reach second or third grade, most children have heard the story of the first Thanksgiving many, many times. This is a wonderful way to renew the meaning of the story for them, by reminding them that people are still coming to American for the same reasons they came hundreds of years ago.

Mrs. Stickly asks the class to make a pilgrim for Thanksgiving. Molly's mother makes one that looks like her. Mollys Pilgrim is a great book! At the end Molly understands that being different isn't bad. by Barbara Cohen