A House of Tailors by Patricia Reilly Giff
WAW 2006 Award Nominee (Gr. 6-8)
December 27, 2006
Dina, a young girl from Germany, is always doings things that
get her in trouble. "If only ...," her mother keeps telling
her.
One day she gets into so much trouble (suspicion of being a
French spy) that she must escape by fleeing to America where she
finds, to her disappointment, that she is expected to sew -- a
craft that she has grown to dislike very much. Through many
adventures and new friendships, she begins to view her talent and
appreciation for life in a new perspective.
This novel is an example of historical fiction, set in the year
1871, and emphasizing one girl's tale of immigration to America.
Through the character's tribulations, the reader receives insight
into the beginnings of the garment industry, the worry of a
smallpox epidemic, the technique of making hats, and the difficulty
of learning the English language
Patricia Reilly Giff is also the award-winning author of
Pictures of Hollis Woods.
