Ethel's Song: Ethel Rosenberg's Life in Poems

by Barbara Krasner

Overview

Convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union against the United States, Ethel Rosenberg shares the story of her beliefs, loves, secrets, betrayals, and injustices in this compelling YA novel in verse.

In 1953, Ethel Rosenberg, a devoted wife and loving mother, faces the electric chair. People say she’s a spy, a Communist, a red. How did she get here? In a series of heart-wrenching poems, Ethel tells her story. The child of Jewish immigrants, Ethel Greenglass grows up on New York City’s Lower East Side. She dreams of being an actress and a singer but finds romance and excitement in the arms of the charming Julius Rosenberg. Both are ardent supporters of rights for workers, but are they spies? Who is passing atomic secrets to the Soviets? Why does everyone seem out to get them?
 
This first book for young readers about Ethel Rosenberg is a fascinating portrait of a commonly misunderstood figure from American history, and vividly relates a story that continues to have relevance today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635926255
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	637,659
Product dimensions:	6.28(w) x 9.27(h) x 0.99(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Barbara Krasner is the author of many books across genres, including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and children’s literature. Her recent titles include 37 Days at Sea: Aboard the M.S. St. Louis, 1939, Civilian Casualties in War and Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems. Her book Goldie Takes a Stand! Golda Meir’s First Crusade was a recipient of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award. She holds a Ph.D. in Holocaust & Genocide Studies from Gratz College, teaches in the Holocaust & Genocide Studies Program at The College of New Jersey, and serves as director of the Mercer County Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Center. She also holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Read an Excerpt

NUMBER 64
In a nondescript tenement on a nondescript street,
we live behind Papa’s sewing machine repair shop. He bends over his machine as poverty bends over us.
Machine shops line the street like tight stitches in a seam,
leaning on each other to make a single straight pattern of income.


WHEN I SING, WHEN I ACT
I become anyone I want.
I go anywhere I please.
I say anything that comes to me.
I make words dance.
When I sing, when I act,
I am in charge, I make the rules.
I rise above this ugly Lower East Side,
the tenement buildings that fold into each other,
The Yiddish babble of fish for sale.
On stage with an opera company,
I am Barbarina, singing soprano in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro.
After my aria, audiences erupt in rambunctious applause.
On stage with a repertory troupe,
I am Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Audiences detonate in waves of cheers.
They say, “Boy, can she act? And how!”

SONG FOR THE PICKET LINE
Every Saturday, Ohrbach’s department store workers carry signs
Unfair labor!
On strike against meager wages against increased working hours at the same pay outside its department store on East 14th Street.
Every Saturday, Ohrbach’s workers hope they can make a difference.
Every Saturday, people think workers standing up for their rights is a bad thing. They hurl
Communist labels at workers.
Every Saturday people yell,
“Marxists!” “Reds!” at the workers.
Every Saturday is Ohrbach’s
Day when police arrest the workers but this July Saturday
I serenade the picketers:
Don’t despair!
Carry on!

Editorial Reviews

07/11/2022

Krasner’s daring historical novel is a collection of fictionalized first-person poems that chronicles the life of Ethel Rosenberg (1915–1953), from her earliest years in a tenement on N.Y.C.’s Lower East Side to her final moments in Sing Sing prison, where she and her husband were executed for spying for the Soviets. As an idealistic young Jewish woman, Rosenberg dreamed of a career as an actor and singer, and fought for workers’ rights. In 1936, she met and fell in love with charismatic Julius Rosenberg (“When he talks,/ all conversations stop”), an engineering college student and eventual Communist Party member, then married him in 1939. In addition to detailing the couple’s lives as passionate Communists, culminating in their execution, this imagined account traces WWII’s development and the U.S.’s postwar anti-Communist hysteria. Krasner’s digestible poems build tension through Rosenberg’s consistently proud, defiant voice, and her confidence that she and Julius did nothing wrong: “How could helping/ the Soviet Union/ defeat Hitler/ make us the bad guys?” Family photos, interspersed throughout, lend poignancy; an epilogue and timeline provide context and additional historical background. Ages 13–17. Agent: Emelie Burl, Susan Schulman Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A Sydney Taylor Notable Book
Bank Street Best Book of the Year

★"Told in verse, this is a story of persistence and resilience. Rosenberg stood up for what she believed in, called out injustices, and was committed to the fight to end poverty and bring rights to the worker. Excellently written and expertly researched, Krasner’s work tells an important story not to be forgotten by time. A painful tale of familial betrayal, and yet another failure of the U.S. justice system… [J]aw-dropping true story for any YA reader interested in U.S. political history." —School Library Journal, starred review

"In beau­ti­ful, flow­ing, heart-wrench­ing verse, Bar­bara Kras­ner tells the sto­ry of Ethel Rosen­berg... (b)uild­ing on exten­sive research, the author paints a pic­ture so evoca­tive that the read­er feels immersed in the moment and thus afraid...(a) tri­umphant com­bi­na­tion of poet­ry and his­to­ry, this book can be used by teach­ers, par­ents, and group lead­ers for dis­cus­sion and analysis." —Michal Hoschan­der Malen, Jew­ish Book Coun­cil

"Ethel Greenglass’ story has often been told with her husband, Julius Rosenberg, at the forefront; now it’s her turn....Even if readers are already aware of how the story ends, this work, which utilizes a variety of forms of poetry and is enhanced with historic photos, will read like a thriller complete with passion, politics, and family betrayal.The subject’s voice, strength, intelligence, and heart ring out on every page." —Kirkus Reviews

"Krasner’s daring historical novel is a collection of fictionalized first-person poems that...build tension through Rosenberg’s consistently proud, defiant voice, and her confidence that she and Julius did nothing wrong... Family photos, interspersed throughout, lend poignancy; an epilogue and timeline provide context and additional historical background." —Publishers Weekly

“Krasner combines research and interviews with the Rosenbergs’ sons to arrive at a sensitive and sympathetic portrait of Ethel…This is a strong recommendation for teens drawn to the biographical poetry of Marilyn Nelson.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Ethel Rosenburg, convicted of spying for the Soviets and executed during the Cold War, remains a controversial historical figure and is likely unknown to young readers. Free-verse poems in varying formats introduce the woman behind the headline-making trial.  Krasner paints Ethel as a sympathetic character from a difficult home who was devoted to her husband and turned to the Communist Party to fight unfair labor practices; the author contends Ethel’s innocence in an epilogue… this well-researched novel in verse is an intriguing biography.”—Booklist

"A fresh, creative approach to this fascinating and controversial story."'– Steve Sheinkin, award winning author of Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown

"In Ethel's Song, Barbara Krasner courageously tells the little known story of Ethel Rosenberg in verse.  This moving and powerful novel, based on interviews and extensive research, should be read aloud to inspire critical thinking about social justice during a dark period in American history." – Susan Goldman Rubin, author of Sing and Shout! The Mighty Voice of Paul Robeson

"Incorporating the suspense of a thriller, the passion, rhythm and syntax of the finest poetry, the complexity of world politics, and the immediacy of current events, Barbara Krasner’s biography of Ethel Rosenberg is a master class in writing the verse novel.  By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, Krasner restores the woman behind the hype, highlighting her childhood, her dreams, her love for humanity—and as importantly, for her husband and children. Using villanelles, pantoums, couplets, and all forms at her disposal, Krasner truly honors the Rosenberg legacy." – Rich Michelson, National Jewish Book Award winner

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2022

Gr 8 Up—Ethel Rosenberg was killed by the electric chair on June 19, 1953. She was the first victim of American fascism. This is her story. She was mother to Michael and Robby, and wife to Julius—also killed by electric chair. Rosenberg was first the daughter of Jewish immigrants and grew up in 1920s New York City's Lower East Side poverty, when worker's rights were null. When the concept of Communism was brought to her and her husband's attention, it was an intriguing idea—one where communities would not live in squalor, but… "working for the brotherhood of all men." One day she signs a petition for the Communist Party's candidate for city council. Years later, this amounts to her husband being called into a loyalty hearing at work. The Rosenbergs wound up in jail. The charges: espionage against the United States. Told in verse, this is a story of persistence and resilience. Rosenberg stood up for what she believed in, called out injustices, and was committed to the fight to end poverty and bring rights to the worker. Excellently written and expertly researched, Krasner's work tells an important story not to be forgotten by time. A painful tale of familial betrayal, and yet another failure of the U.S. justice system. Includes an epilogue, a time line of events, source notes, and a selected bibliography. VERDICT A jaw-dropping true story for any YA reader interested in U.S. political history.—Gretchen Schulz

School Library Journal

2022-06-08
Ethel Greenglass’ story has often been told with her husband, Julius Rosenberg, at the forefront; now it’s her turn.

Traitor or spy frequently precedes Ethel Rosenberg’s name in history books. This volume shows that there is much more to this woman who has been vilified for decades. In high school, she was a talented actress with dreams of leaving her Lower East Side tenement. She believed in workers’ rights and, after heading into the workforce, participated in strikes. Ethel found someone who shared her beliefs when she met and fell in love with Julius, an engineering student who joined the Young Communist League while in college. From an early age, she worried about others and questioned inequality and oppression, so communism appealed to her sense of justice: She saw it as a way to support workers, people like her own family, who had struggled for much of their lives. This account follows Julius’ 1950 arrest for espionage, soon followed by her own. It explores the impact on their young sons, the trial, and the public response. Even if readers are already aware of how the story ends, this work, which utilizes a variety of forms of poetry and is enhanced with historic photos, will read like a thriller complete with passion, politics, and family betrayal.

The subject’s voice, strength, intelligence, and heart ring out on every page. (timeline, source notes, bibliography, further information, picture credits) (Verse historical fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews