Gina from Siberia

By georgieva.iskra / June 21, 2023

“Gina from Siberia” is written by the American mother and daughter team – Jane Bernstein and Charlotte Glynn. Jane Bernstein is the receiver of two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships in Creative Writing, and Charlotte Glynn is a filmmaker. The spectacular pictures created by Anna Desnitskaya, a Russian illustrator nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, enhance the book’s assets.

This book review contains spoilers.

“Gina from Siberia” is a story about a wire-haired fox terrier who follows her family on a long journey to the United States. In 1978 the family of Mama, Papa, Paul and baby Danny took the trip to New York City, facing some challenges, such as that dogs are not allowed on trains in Austria, and they had to think of a rescue plan for Gina. When the dog understands that her family love and cares about her, she ‘forgot her decision to stay unhappy’ forever. Gina is sorrowful at the beginning of the story when she hears that the family wants to move to a distant land, which is ‘5,681 miles away. Or maybe 5, 682.’. Gina misses her best friend, Gaidar and her cousins. She wonders how people want to leave the ‘wonderful place’ they live and keeps asking: why?

A group of people (possible family relatives) waits at the New York City airport and gives them a lift to their new apartment. Gina feels uncomfortable in her new environment, and she is fearful of the dogs in the neighbourhood. Eventually, she makes her way down the street and makes friends with Victor, a ‘big dog’ with a ‘small tail’. They explore Broadway and enjoy the smell of street food. Ultimately, Gina adapts and admits: “Maybe it wasn’t so terrible after all. …Just different”.

The story is presented from Gina’s point of view, making it accessible for young children to understand the emigration issue and awaken awareness of what it means to settle in a new country. The readers would benefit from the world map in the book, which shows with arrows the family’s journey from Novosibirsk via Moscow, Vienna, Rome and New York City. The children would be exposed to writing in Russian, such as the map, some signs of the shops and writing in German at Vienna’s station. However, the listed names of Gina’s friends might be difficult to remember and pronounce as they are Russian names: Zena, Yelena, Galina, and Irina. Pupils will experience Gina’s rebellious behaviour, typical for many of us in the face of change. But the end is promising that change is transformational and can be enjoyable. Anna Desnitskaya strengthens the whole story with beautiful and detailed illustrations. You can feel the falling snow in the evening in Siberia, where the children slide joyfully in front of their blocks of flats, or you can experience the traffic and the flashing lights from the billboards in New York City.

It is a beautiful hardcover book that can be purchased as a gift.

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