After fleeing war-torn Russia and trekking across Europe, determined to make a new life for themselves in America, in Sept. 1922, 11-year-old Yehuda Weinstein, his mother, and his younger sister boarded the S.S. Rotterdam, bound for the U.S. But 9 days later, in N.Y. Harbor, inspectors from the Immigration Service notice that Yehuda's arm is in a sling and that his hand is damaged.

They refuse to let him board the ferry to Ellis Island (EI). But the Weinsteins have been through too much to be turned back now. What happens to Yehuda and his family on EI is both a touching story and an illuminating account of the immigrant experience. Illuminated with beautifully evocative paintings, family photos, and period postcards and sepia prints. A true story! For all ages.