Molly’s Pilgrim celebrates the American dream

Molly´s Pilgrim by Barbra Cohen is about a Jewish girl, Molly, whose family emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1904. They are about to have their first Thanksgiving and it is very different from the Thanksgiving we are familiar with in 2019. The message is about accepting others even though they are different. During the story Molly goes some through bullying by some other girls. They talk about how her English isn’t good and how she has a big nose and small eyes. This makes her scared and wants to go home, Its unfortunate because this happens a lot even today and a lot of people are scared to talk about it, like Molly was. It’s pretty relatable since I think everyone has been bullied at some point. The book earns its title when Molly first figures out through a book she was reading in school that Thanksgiving is an important holiday to celebrate.

At that time, the teacher has them make pilgrim dolls and Molly makes one resembling her mother. The school bully makes fun of her but the teacher stands up for her. Then some other people call Molly’s pilgrim doll really pretty. It’s nice that the teacher educates the other kids on their behavior, not just on American history. Overall, it’s a good story with a good message. This book is written to be read by or to elementary-aged children. I would recommend this to younger people than me so they can get another perspective on such a famous holiday. In fact, I was actually telling my friend about it and he got his brother to start reading the book and he’s enjoyed it so far.