I was first drawn to the illustration on the cover. For me, the first thing I look for in a picture books are the illustrations so I was excited to find that the illustrations were excellent.

The story itself flows nicely and keeps the readers attention. Some help understanding the Russian words would have been helpful. My kids were asking questions I had to look up to answer. Perhaps a glossary at the back would be helpful?

This would be an excellent picture book to give to someone facing a big move or change.

A sweet children's book (based on a true story) about a dog's journey from Siberia to New York City. The illustrations are excellent and they really brought the story to life. Highly recommend this book for children and dog lovers.

Really cute story told from the dog’s perspective about her journey from Siberia to what I’m assuming is NYC. She didn’t at first love her new city and was very homesick until she met a friend who showed her all of the things a dog should love about NYC. The illustrations were hands down my favorite part of this book!

Moving to a different country and coming up against a different culture through the eyes of a dog named Gina; a story that is based on the true tale of the Backer family who moved from the Soviet Union to the US in 1978. Visually stunning, with lively illustrations, fast-paced, nostalgic and quirky, Bernstein's graphic novel is one I will certainly be coming back to.

This is an adorable picture book with a heartwarming story. Based on a true story, Gina from Siberia tells the tale of how Gina, a dog and her family emigrated from Siberia to the United States in 1978. Told from Gina's perspective, we follow her and her family through their travels, settling into their new home in New York, and the friendship that developed between Gina and her new friend, Victor. The illustrations accompanying this story are detailed and colorful. Overall, a cute and enjoyable read.

Thank you to the authors (Jane Bernstein and Charlotte Glynn), Animal Media Group LLC and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely story based on true events. Gina is a small dog, living a happy life in Serbia, where she has 6 beds to choose from, a comfy laundry pile and friends in nearby apartments. One day, it's announced that they are to leave Serbia, seeking a better life in the USA. Along the way they travel by plane and train, and discover that animals are not allowed on the journey. Mama disguises Gina in an effort to get her safely to their home. Will Gina make it to America undiscovered? And if she does, will she ever be happy again?

I liked how the illustrations started brightly, when Gina was happy, but became darker and more muted as she travelled and left her happy life behind. I also liked how the story focussed on an animal's point of view, rather than that of a human as this gives a fresh look at an event from history.
I think my favourite part was the description of what Gina saw along her journey, along with the illustrations which are ideal for children to look along with Gina as they read with an adult.

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to access an advanced e-copy of this book for review via NetGalley.

This is an interesting story about a family and their dog, Gina, who travel from Siberia to the United States in 1978. The story is told from the dog’s perspective and is based on a true story. I think this is a wonderful story about cultural differences and opens up a great topic for discussion with children on how our country was formed. I was also touched by how hard the family worked to keep their family dog from being discovered during the trip from Austria to Rome.
Thank you to Animal Media Group and NetGalley for the chance to read this picture book in exchange for my honest review, my opinions are my own.

A heart-warming story of a dog's journey together with its family from Siberia to New York City in search of greener pastures. Gina, our main character who is a dog, gets to see a lot of wonderful and strange things along the way. Living in a new city, far from her best friend, Gina gets lonely but eventually she gets the hang of the place and come to like his new home and new friends.

I especially like the part where Gina writes a letter to her best friend who is also a dog; and also the part where she finally decided to introduce herself to her neighbors and made friends with them.

I'm living in a foreign country now, away from my friends and I can relate to Gina's story and I'm very happy that things have turned out great for her.

It can be lonely moving to a new city, but taking that tiny step to say hello and be nice to people, great friendships await. In this book, Gina shows that you have the power to make things happen if you believe in yourself.

Book Review
Title: Gina from Siberia
Author: Jane Bernstein
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Rating: **
Review: So, all I know about this book is that it is a true story based on the journey of a dog called Gina travelling from Siberia to the USA at the end of the Cold War. While I didn’t know this was a children’s book, I was expecting a graphic novel, so I ended up very disappointed with Gina from Siberia.
All this story was about is a dog’s thoughts on moving from one country to another and it doesn’t even contain any social and political commentary but solely focuses on the dog’s thoughts of losing her home and friends and having to make new ones in another country.
While I did think this would be a good book for children about learning to value the important things and that you can always make new friends no matter where you live, I personally felt let down because this wasn’t what I was expected when I requested the book.

Very charming short story about a dog - sweet little terriet Gina.. And more. Love. Sadness of leaving home. The joy caused by finding new home. Nice, sometimes funny illustrations.

This story follows the move of a family and their dog from Siberia to New York. It is told from the dog's perspective. It is based on an actual move that happened in 1978.

I liked the pictures and the mood of the book. The story progressed naturally and kept the reader's interest. I found the abundant use of Russian words to be a bit much for a children's book. Obviously, the character names needed to be Russian, but the mention of some of the foods (especially with no explanation of what these foods are) made for difficult reading with little payoff for the trouble.

Overall, it was a sweet story with good pictures. Personally, I would check it out from the library to read once or twice rather than purchasing it for longer perusal.

I loved the illustrations so much I could frame them and put them on my wall. The quality was that high. The illustrator has an extremely good sense of space and lighting, and we can feel that they love playing with it. Good news: I also loved the narration. It is the story of a dog, Gina, who lives in Siberia and who will have to adapt to a major change in their life, as their family moves to New York City.

From there, unfolds a story of feeling sad, feeling scared, feeling angry, feeling homesick, but little by little, making some friends, adapting to the city, and enjoying the new life as it is. This book was a great story for kids, and I loved that it was told through the eyes of a dog and based on a true story .

Gina from Siberia is a sweet, quick read about a dog named Gina that immigrates with her family to the United States in the 70's. Gina decides that she will be sad forever about having to leave but once she realizes the love of her family, and the extent to which they will keep her safe as they take ever mode of transport over the course of their journey, she changes her mind. There is so much that she loves from her home in Siberia, though, and so much to miss when she comes to the U.S. Soon she discovers a friend, a friend that helps her see the good things to learn to love in her new home.

The artwork was nicely done--the details that the images included (down to the slight references to the things that were happening in pop culture during the time) are delightful. There are times when the author lists names of foods and things that were seen and it feels overwhelming (especially when you don't really know what those things are, maybe an index could have been added at the end?) but that might add to the fast paced thoughts of Gina, as well as, her feelings of overwhelmed-ness at the great number of things to be found in NYC.

This book does a great job of introducing the concept of moving from a place that you love to a new, unknown and yet to be loved home.

As always, I received a electronic copy of this book from Netgalley and Animal Media Group.

A very sweet book about the sadness of leaving home. And the joy of finding a new one. Told in the voice of a sweet terrier, Gina. Based on a family's true story! I

"Gina From Siberia" is about a family who immigrates from Siberia to the United States. Only, instead of being told from an adult or a child, the story is told from the perspective of the family dog, a miniature wire-haired fox terrier named Gina. Readers learn of Gina's life and routine in Siberia, the family's long and arduous journey from Siberia to New York City, and Gina learning to settle into her new home and lifestyle.

This book is a well-done illustrated story in which, young children can enjoy. Readers will be able to relate to moving from one place to another. Animal lovers will be able to project their love to Gina, and her family for refusing to leave their beloved dog behind.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The story of a Russian family’s immigration from Siberia, Russia to New York City in the USA told from the viewpoint of the family dog.

This book is based on the author’s own story of immigrating to the US and their real family dog named Gina who came with them. Obviously, Gina’s feelings about all of it are imagined. Most of the book is focused on what Gina likes about Siberia, their long journey to the US by many trains and a plane. And then about how Gina feels about her new home and how it takes a little while to get used to it. It feels a little bit like a typical moving story or travel story with some foreign vocabulary thrown in. Recent years have seen a lot of more emotionally wrought immigration stories. This one is more subtle and humorous, which is fine. It is good for kids to realize there are all kinds of immigrant stories. Probably the biggest fans of this book are going to be dog lovers who won’t be able to get enough of the cute illustrations of Gina and her adventures.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Gina From Siberia' by Jane Bernstein and Charlotte Glynn with illustrations by Anya Desnitskaya is a picture book based on a true story.

Gina is a wire-haired terrier living with her human family in Siberia. She is happy with the family and where they live, but one day the family decides to move to the United States. This makes Gina unhappy and she lets everyone around her know it. There are also problems with travelling with a small dog, and the family must think of a clever way to deal with it. Gina like her new home?

It's a very cute story, made moreso by the fact that it is true. The illustrations are colorful and lovely. I loved the cheeriness of the story and pictures.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Animal Media Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

A lovely children's book, based on the true story of Gina, a wire-haired fox terrier, who moves with her family from Russian Siberia to New York City. It is told from the point of view from Gina herself, and though she's happy she's with her family, she misses her friend Gaidar. Gina has travelled a long way by train and plane, and she finds New York very different from where she was in Siberia. But Gina soon finds new friends and discovers street food!
A lovely quick read, Gina is beautifully illustrated, and the littlies will love it!
My thanks to NetGalley and Animal Media Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realize this was a children's book. This is a great and creative book to read to any young kids. The drawings and the colors are beautiful. I would most definitely read this to my grandkids if I ever have one! The ending was just perfect.

This is a charming book about moving to a new home - in a new country. It's a lightly-told immigration story shared through the eyes of the family dog. The lovely artwork tells the story that the little dog doesn't - of the poverty being left behind, the sparsity of the new home, and the eventual settling of the family into their new city. This book will make a wonderful introduction story to start the conversation with more complex picture book titles on immigration and refugees such as Francesca Sanna's THE JOURNEY.