Characters
The person Rifka is writing all of her letters to.
Who is Tovah?
a bag with two straps on your shoulders
What is rucksack?
The color of Rifka's hair.
What is blonde?
This is the city Rifka is fleeing from.
What is Berdichev?
The book Rifka is writing in and carries with her.
What is her Pushkin?
The boy Rifka helps while she is a detainee.
Who is Ilya?
the wife of a czar (a Russian leader); a Russian empress before 1917
What is czarina?
Rifka's last name.
What is Nebrot?
The place where Rifka is detained before being able to enter America.
What is Ellis Island?
The disease Rifka and her entire family catch while in Poland.
What is typhus?
Rifka has 5 brothers. Name them all.
Who are Isaac, Asher, Reuben, Saul, and Nathan?
a day or time of rest
What is Sabbath?
How old Rifka is at the end of the novel.
What is 13?
Rifka tries Belgian __________ for the first time while in Antwerp.
What is chocolate?
What is a milkman?
Rifka has a Bubbe she references throughout the novel. Her name is __________.
a decorative piece of cloth
What is shirring?
The American government says Rifka could be a "social responsibility" because of this.
What is her hair won't grow/she is undesirable?
It is in this town the mean old man calls Rifka a thief.
Both Pieter and Pushkin inspire Rifka to begin writing these.
What are poems?
The name of the doctor who finally gives both Rifka and the boy she helps on Ellis Island clearance into America.
Who is Dr. Fargate?
to recite (Jewish) prayers
What is davening?
Rifka is the only one in her family who can speak ___________ without a Russian accent.
What is Yiddish?
The town Rifka and her family are stopped in when she meets the girl and her baby.
What is Motziv?
The nickname the nurses and doctors give to Rifka while she is detained because she is so helpful.
What is the Little Mother?