My mother's family departed their home in Germany from Bremerhaven when they came to the US in late 1954, so I was drawn to read this story , tho' it takes place 70 years earlier. What a different experience it was for Wilhelm! My mother went dancing every night and loved teasing the sailors, along with the other teenage girls, during their 10 day voyage! Wilhelm's journey was far more interesting in comparison. Steerage with it's many issues. Dangers of sailing back in that century, too. In comparison, my mother's stateroom and her experiences were a pleasant cruise across the Atlantic! I enjoyed reading Wilhelm's account of his journey and what he saw and did. I also enjoyed the author's side notes, as they added further info about the voyage. It could end up someone's favorite summer beach read.

*received for free on netgalley for honest review* This is a very interesting book, and informative book. The artwork is simple but detailed where its needed. really enjoyed this reading though I would consider it better for older children because there is a lot of information in it. The "timeline" in the back was amazing as well!

This book was available to read now through NetGalley, thank you to the publishers and author for allowing people to read and review it.

This book wasn’t as I thought it would be, I expected it to be a whole journal type story following Wilhem’s journey to the new world. Some of the story was that certainly but most of it was the author’s addition detailing facts and information.

I would have much preferred the journal story come first and read through everything that Wilhelm was sharing In his journal and then after his story was done that the author include all the information and facts at the end so they were separated, I found I kept getting taken out the story by all the additional stuff the author included in the middle of his journal entries.

It was a very sweet story and interesting reading about his journey but it didn’t end at all, it should have been closed up and given a really nice ending. (Maybe even gone back to how it started with his great great granddaughter talking about what she read.) It was a good read though and had history you don’t read much about.

The initial draw for me to this book was the appealing cover and the title. Having a Mum who emigrated from Holland to Australia along with most of her family in the 1950's by boat has always been an interesting tale to me. My Mum doesn't remember much of the boat trip over here so to hear about another's journey (whether it is only based on a true story or not) is highly interesting to me.

Whilst Wilhelm travelled far, far earlier on than my Mum and originated from Germany, I really enjoyed this story. It showed the highly difficult journey that early emigrants went through to get to their new homes. It also displayed the blind trust they had and big gamble they took to travel to a new country with a new language and new cultures. There was no internet available to research where they were travelling to, so much of what they knew was very basic.

I enjoyed the lay out of this story and I really believe that the mix of narrative, facts and illustrations will help appeal to students studying emigration or simply interested in the story. My only negative was that I believe the story ended very abruptly and I think it could have been drawn out slightly longer. I rated Wilhelm' s Journey a 3.5/5

I'd like to thank netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wilhelm's Journey gives us rich text alongside detailed illustrations. I would gladly add this book to my classroom library or school bookshelf. An enjoyable and important read for young people (and all people).

Wonderful and insightful!

This book is one that kids (and parents) are going to really enjoy! Wilhelm's Journey is full of great information and engaging. Kids are going to love learning about his journey to America!

This book is one of those must have's! If you are a librarian - this should be added to the top of your list - or even if you looking to find books to give as gifts, you need this one!

Never has a simple book like Wilhelm’s Journey been more needed as today since it recounts a story of Emigration / Immigration from Germany to U.S.A in 1872.
Although America’s open door policy changed in the early 20th Century at the time of this story most immigrants were accepted. Written from a German perspective it was fascinating to learn of the numbers who made similar crossings from Wilhelm’s country. This book is nothing if it is not thorough and it explains the numbers of Germans who were economic migrants to ‘the land of the free’.
Basically in Wilhelm it shows the reasons why people undertook this hazardous voyage. Then through Wilhelm’s eyes and his ‘sketch pad’ it reflects on what life was like on board one of the last sailing vessels that made the long sea crossing.
I adored the illustrations which along with the topics covered brought life at sea home to the reader.
Wilhelm travelled alone; too young to be found amid the grown up discussions yet too old to play games the kids got up to to help pass the time.
In the end he is ‘befriended’ by a crew member and worms his way into children’s activities as the passengers became familiar with their surroundings and comfortable with one another.
Consequently we have a comprehensive account of the epic journeys that were undertaken by the young and the old in the hope of a better future.
A wonderful collection of facts and general information, filled with adventure and the tragic aspects of living in close proximity in steerage for long weeks.
Aimed specifically at a young adult audience this book is a wealth of information as well as a stimulus to visit museums if modern vocational travel gets the reader to New York.
Yet in the U.K. struggling with Brexit, a fear of rampant immigration it is a timely reminder that the world is a much smaller place and despite the clamour for quotas and immigration targets, humanity’s needs are as basic today as in Wilhelm’s time.

Wilhelm grew up in farming family, but he wanted to become a woodcarver. He learns the trade from a man who teaches him to read. He finds literature describing America and wants to move there because land and opportunity to own a shop do not exist in Germany. He sketched aboard the ship. The book describes his voyage. At the book's end, we learn Wilhelm only remained in America long enough to earn money to return to Germany and own his own business. The illustrations are appropriate for young readers. The book presented an even-handed treatment of immigration to the United States. I received an advance electronic copy in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.