An Ellis Island Christmas – Book Reading
Ellis Island – Parents, children and anyone in the holiday spirit are welcome to attend a book reading and book signing by author Maxinne Rhea Leighton of her beloved children’s book An Ellis Island Christmas (Viking Penguin), a book for children about immigration, recipient of the Marion Vannett Ridgeway Award. This free event will take place on Saturday, December 9, 2017 from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm in the Eastern National Ellis Island bookstore located at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, 1st floor.
Save Ellis Island, the sponsor of this event, is the non-profit partner of the National Park Service tasked with raising the funds needed to preserve and restore the immigrant hospital complex on Ellis Island’s south side. The preservation of this complex is vital to telling the unknown story of a time when America extended its care and compassion to immigrants traveling to our shore.
An Ellis Island Christmas is reflective of that mission. Told from a child’s perspective of what it is like to leave one’s home and everything familiar in hope of a better life, the story and the illustrations powerfully evoke the uncertainty, wonder, and hope of this young immigrant, who arrives at Ellis Island on Christmas Eve.
Along with An Ellis Island Christmas, Maxinne Rhea Leighton is co-author of Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives (W.W. Norton), recipient of the Chartered Institute of Building Awards, England; co-author Educating for Social Justice: A Dangerous Game: Matilda Joslyn Gage Center (Journal of Museum Studies); and co-editor of The Future of Cities: An Integrated Approach to Urban Cities.
Copies of An Ellis Island Christmas will be available for purchase in the Eastern National Ellis Island bookstore.
Candy and treats will be on hand for anyone feeling in the holiday mood!
Call Save Ellis Island for more event details (646) 356-2221. Ferry Tickets to Ellis Island may be purchased at www.statuecruises.com