Her Mother's Secret by Barbara Garland Polikoff

Gold: Time to Create: Hands-On Explorations in Process Art for Young Children, by Christie Burnett (Gryphon House) Activity Book 1 - Games, Arts & Crafts, etc. Silver: Take a Peek with Peek-a-Bear, by Jill Mangel Weisfeld illustrated by Garry Thorburn (Peek-A-Bear Press)īronze: The Oldest Bedtime Story Ever, written and illustrated by Benjamin Morse (Orson & Co)Ĥ. Gold: ABC, by Santiago Beascoa illustrated by Patricia Geis (Lupita Books) Silver: Count the Sheep to Sleep, by Philippa Rae illustrated by Stéphanie Röhr (Sky Pony Press)īronze: All Hallow’s ABC, written and illustrated by Jenni Kaye (Daring Ink Press) Gold: You Can Count on Gracie, by Joan Harrison (Little Minute Publishing) Polikoff has masked the truth with mystery until the very end.Silver: Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again, by Ginger Pate illustrated by Rhett Ransom Pennell (Greene Bark Press)īronze: Words, by Shelley Sleeper designed by Francisco Macias (Simple Steps) Her Mother’s Secret is a treat written by a fine storyteller. The portrayal of Rifke as the cold mother is less tenable, although readers will be hard pressed to guess what her secret is. The author shapes Sarah’s character most skillfully of all, illustrating the optimism of youth. The background is beautifully realized and captures readers’ fascination for the period. The author’s mentions of the Chicago World’s Fair and Hull House help set the time and place.

Sarah experiences difficult conflicts at home, painful tragedies, and first love, but most unsettlingly, she learns about a family secret that shakes her to her core. The World’s Fair has brought excitement to her neighborhood with wondrous exhibits, including the remarkable Ferris wheel capable of holding 60 passengers. Along with her best friend, Bianca, she takes art lessons at Hull House, a community center run by Jane Addams. Sarah dreams of becoming an artist and finds solace in her craft. Sarah has always been on the outside, striving yet failing to gain her mother’s love. While Sarah was born with dark hair and eyes, her siblings are her mother’s golden-haired princess and prince.

Fifteen-year-old Sarah is the middle child sandwiched between her older sister, Fanny, and younger brother, Sammy. Now, in the winter of 1892, Jacob is a butcher, and he and his wife have three children. Rifke and Jacob Goldman, Jewish immigrants, had fled a Russian pogrom with their family and settled in Chicago.

Her Mother's Secret by Barbara Garland Polikoff