Until the Robin Walks on Snow by Bernice L. Rocque

When they came to the United States, they had to learn a fifth.Īt the time Toni was born, Nikodimas, who was a trained carpenter and who had worked at an American rifle factory during the war, now discovered that he could make more money delivering adult beverages “imported” into New York and sold to Connecticut speakeasies. Because of the political and educational realities of where they were brought up, some of the main characters could speak four languages: Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, and German. Her mother stayed in Lithuania for almost twenty years as her father at first went back and forth a few times between the Old Country and America. Her brothers actually crossed the Nemanus River into Germany to go to school. Her family had lived in Lithuania near the German border.

Perhaps the most interesting character is Marianna’s father Nikodimas. Stories tell us that peasants who were drafted were often coerced into a lifetime commitment and would become cannon fodder in the World War that would begin three years later.

Marianna’s husband Andrzej, from a Poland ruled by Russia, came to America after registering for the Russian Army’s draft in 1911. We see the dynamics of a family new to the New World but having opportunities that would have been unheard of in Poland and Lithuania.

Still, Until the Robin Walks on Snow is more than just the story of a baby’s survival. Anyone familiar with such stoves in a New England farmhouse knows that these stoves heat the whole house and are tricky to regulate. In mid-January in order that Marianna could get more sleep, they placed the baby overnight in a section of their wood and coal-burning stove wrapped in a towel in a basket. Her midwife and best friend Helena spent most of that time with the family until the following March. She never slept more than three hours at a time. Birth at only a pound and a half even reduced those small odds.įor six weeks after he was born on November 29, his mother Marianna virtually never left his side. Premature babies at this time had about a 5% chance of living. Antoni was a preemie, only one and a half pounds at birth. The story focuses on the birth and infancy of the author’s Uncle Tony- Antoni in Polish, but they made sure his birth certificate said it the “American” way, Anthony. What one could consider the main character does nothing much but eat and sleep. Although set some forty or so years later in history, its style is reminiscent of the Little House on the Prairie books though Until the Robin Walks on Snow shares the actions of the adult characters. The author tells us a fictionalized account of her family’s experiences. Until the Robin Walks on Snow is great little story about a miracle baby-and an excellent portrayal of a family of recent immigrants to the United States circa 1922.

Until the Robin Walks on Snow by Bernice L. Rocque