When Papa left their small farm in Czechoslovakia to try and find a better life for his family in America, neither Mama nor the two young daughters, Szerena and Gisella, could have foreseen just how long their separation would become. But World War I, illness, and lack of money prohibited Papa's sending for them for five years.
All that time, Szerena kept wishing for "a papa like everyone else," but Gisella, who was only one year old when Papa left, had no such memories and resented the father who had gone away without them.
Mama, meanwhile, with the help of her good neighbors and both little girls, carried on the work of the farm. When Papa was finally able to send for his family, the sadness of parting from old friends and customs was soon forgotten in the wonders of a new world of big cities, trains, the big ship they took to America, the Statue of Liberty, and most important of all—Papa.
This is a truly satisfying family story that is filled with everyday details of Jewish family life, interwoven with Hungarian and Czechoslovakian celebrations.
—from the dust jacket
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