A HOUSE OF TAILORS
by Patricia Reilly Giff
Wendy Lamb Books/Random House
ISBN: 0385730667
Ages 9-12
176 pages

Ever since she was little, thirteen-year-old Dina Kirk has worked in her family's tailoring business. Her mother takes pride in working with Dina and her sister Katharina. Her mother's business cards read "Frau Kirk and Daughters - Tailors."

Through a strange twist of fate, Dina's dreams of escaping her sewing machine come true. She leaves everything that is familiar in Germany and moves in with her uncle's family in Brooklyn. She is horrified to discover that her uncle is also a tailor, and soon she finds herself sitting in front of a sewing machine again. Now Dina is miserable and homesick too.

Dina struggles to fit in with her new family and tries to stand up to her uncle, who is almost as stubborn as she is. Her family soon discovers how strong and brave Dina is in the face of adversity. She helps the family through a health epidemic and does what no one else dares to do when a fire rages at their home.

Dina is surprised by the closeness she feels for her new family and her feelings for Johann, a young man from a rival tailor shop. Dina's future is revealed at the end of the novel, and no one is more surprised than Dina.

Patricia Reilly Giff has created a spunky and believable heroine with Dina in A HOUSE OF TAILORS. Readers will enjoy her adventures while learning about the challenges that our ancestors faced when coming to a new country.

   --- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner (renee.kirchner@usa.net)

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