Author: Tana Reiff
In 1910, George’s widowed mother had no money for her daughter Adonia’s dowry, so she let her teenage son George go alone to America to make money for his sister. He worked shining shoes and then as a busboy in New York. He learned some English, but after a year he had nothing. He moved to Chicago to work in a factory and then bought an ice cream cart. Working with his wife and son, he started an ice cream shop. This historical novel tells the story of the struggles and success of George’s family.
Hopes and Dreams is a series of dramatic historical readers for beginners. The hopes and dreams of the characters in these stories are a reflection of the hopes and dreams of virtually every group of people who have ventured from their homes to a new place for a new life in America. Each story and its characters reflect a part of the history of the United States. Yet, at the same time, each story is different; the characters face challenges, defeats and victories in the fields and factories of Southern California, the gold fields of the West, the construction of the railroad in Utah, Chinatown in San Francisco, the Deep South and Southside Chicago, and New York’s Little Italy.
Available free online, the teacher’s supplement includes the following:
- Brief plot summaries
- Discussion Questions for each chapter
- Historical photographs
- Detailed plot summaries
- Historical background
- Comprehension check: “What Did You Read” Form
- Book report form
- Word play activity
- Final Review Cloze activity
