Napoli, Donna Jo. The King of Mulberry Street. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2005.
Beniamino’s family in Napoli, Italy, is very poor, but pretty happy. They have each other, they have enough food to get by, and most importantly they have their Jewish faith. When his mother wakes him up very early one morning and asks him to be very quiet while they sneak out of the house, Beniamino is excited at the surprise trip and enjoys spending time with his mom. But then she gives him some rather mysterious instructions:
“‘First of all, simply survive…Watch, like you always do, watch and learn and do whatever you have to do to fit in. Talk as little as possible–just watch and use your head…Nothing can stop you, tesoro mio. Remember, you’re special, a gift from the Most Powerful One. As soon as you can, get an education. Be your own boss…Don’t undress with anyone around. Ever. Swear to me.” (p. 23-24)
Just like that, he finds himself stowed away on a cargo ship, on his way to America. Alone. He vows to fight his way back to his mother in Napoli, and he does fight fiercely…but how much fight can you put up with no home, no family, no knowledge of English, no money, and no place to turn for help?
“Nothing was going right…I went back to the alley with the dead dog. I threw pieces of a crushed wooden box into a half-empty barrell to make a clean layer on top of whatever was inside. Then I climbed in…I recited every one of Nonna’s charms I could remember–charms to keep evil at bay. That was where I spent my first night in America…” (p. 84)
