Ellis Island Passover

Ellis Island Passover connects one child to the not-so-distant past of her relatives. The child has had disagreements with her siblings and isn’t in the mood for the big Passover celebration with her extended family until her Uncle Ezra tells her of his first Passover in America. His story connects her back to her family and reminds her that a great barrier was faced to escape violence and come to a land of opportunity. The story has long text per page, making it a better fit for older children. The topic feels especially poignant in the political climate toward immigrants in 2025 and is a more important read than ever to imagine and understand the plight of immigrants who have faced violence and are seeking the land of opportunity like most of our ancestors did at some point. The illustrations are a bit simple but do fine, complementing the text. The family is Jewish and celebrates a Jewish tradition during the story, but the emphasis is more on immigration than learning about the holiday.

“Ellis Island Passover” by Marissa Moss tells the story of Great-Uncle Ezra, as he tells how he first came to America from the old country looking for a better life, where he could be Jewish and free to live his life and practice his religion. When he arrives in America, he comes to New York, to Ellis Island. This is where they will process him and allow him into the country. The problem is that the people who work at Ellis Island cannot find his brother, Mendel, so they let him stay one week before they say they will have to send him back home. Within a couple of days of his week being up, Passover begins, and Ezra wants to celebrate the seder, meaning “order,” a festive meal with other Jews to celebrate the Jews’ exodus from Egypt in ancient times.

After celebrating the holiday, Ezra is overjoyed to discover that due to a mistake, they were able to find his brother in the nick of time before he had to be sent back to the country he came from on a ship. As he retells this story, there are sweet moments when people help him and scarier moments when he doesn’t know what will happen next, worrying his great-niece and making her wonder how he survived the whole ordeal at Ellis Island.

The story is one for the ages. It is still true that the Jewish people are looking for a safe haven, one where they can be free to live their lives, both generally as well as religiously. The relevance should not be lost on readers who in any way understand the plight of Jews being expelled from nation after nation, place after place, over several millenia. Marissa Moss has crafted a very intriguing story that tells true stories that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to find their way in the world.