Jacqueline Dembar Greene

In 1914 New York City, nine-year-old Rebecca is determined to show her family that she is old enough to light the Shabbos candles and go to the movies.

While Rebecca Rubin helps her building's ailing superintendent take care of his homing pigeons, she puzzles over what to do with the Christmas centerpiece her teacher insisted she make but which has no place in her Jewish home.

When Rebecca helps her injured neighbor, Mr. Rossi, by caring for his pigeons, she discovers a strange black pigeon with an eerie message warning Mr. Rossi of danger, and consults a fortune teller to learn if she is in danger, as well.

When Rebecca attends summer camp in the country because of the spreading polio epidemic in New York City, she is troubled by a bully in her tent and another fellow camper who is strangely secretive.

Volunteering at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the early 1900s, Jewish cousins Rebecca and Ana must find the real culprit when they are unfairly blamed for a series of mishaps in the Japanese garden. Includes an essay on urban gardening and public botanical gardens in the early 20th century.

"What if you, as a girl battling stage fright before a dance recital, suddenly found yourself in Rebecca's world in 1914? Join Rebecca on adventures where the two of you can try out for a vaudeville show, put on a musical, or even sneak into a factory to deliver an important message. Your journey back in time can take whatever twists and turns you choose, as you select from a variety of options in this multiple-ending story"--

"Rebecca Rubin is growing up in the bustling city of New York in 1914. She dreams of being a star on the silver screen, but her performance this year is on the stage at school. She has to share the spotlight with her cousin Ana, though, and Rebecca fears the audience will laugh instead of applaud. Will Ana hurt or help the performance? Then, being included in a special plan fills Rebecca with joy. But what act of kindness teaches her the true meaning...

In August, 1775, while spending a month on her cousin's farm in the French countryside, Marie takes care of her younger sisters, picks vegetables, and helps her cousin find a way to earn money so she won't be sent away from home.