That said, although long aware of it, and although a fan of some of Cohen's other books - notably, her Seven Daughters and Seven Sons, which is a particular favorite of mine - I never happened to pick it up before now. I believe that a new edition, with new cover art, was just released earlier this year (2018). Fortunately, her teacher, Miss Stickley, uses the incident to explore what it really means to be a Pilgrim, and draws a parallel between the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkoth.įirst published in 1983, Molly's Pilgrim is probably one of author Barbara Cohen's most well-known books, and has remained constantly in print since it was first released. For her part, Molly is dismayed, sure that her "Pilgrim" will not find favor with her class and teacher. Called upon to explain what Pilgrims are, she describes them as people who "came to this country from the other side," looking for "religious freedom.so they could worship God as they pleased." Molly's mother identifies strongly with this description, and makes a doll that looks just like her, when she was a little girl. When her teacher gives her class an assignment to make little doll-sized Pilgrims or Indians, to be included in the model they are building of the First Thanksgiving, Molly shares the task with her mother.
Here, at the school in Winter Hill, Molly's differences really stand out, especially when the mean Elizabeth is always there to comment on them. A young Russian-Jewish immigrant girl in the early years of the twentieth century must contend with bullying and the ridicule of her peers when her family moves away from New York City to a smaller town.
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