The Journey to New York - Then and Now

The Danish-language picture book "The Journey to New York – Then and Now" tells the story of two girls who both travel from Denmark to New York – over 120 years apart. Nora, in 2024, is looking forward to traveling with her mom on vacation to the exciting American metropolis. Anna, around the year 1900, is about to emigrate to America with her family and must say goodbye to her house and her grandparents. 

Aimed at children 4-10 years old, the book outlines an important chapter in Denmark's history - and in many Danish and Danish-American families' own history. At the height of emigration to America, about one in ten Danes bought a one-way ticket across the Atlantic Ocean and left Denmark in pursuit of better opportunities.  

The book includes two fact pages about the Danish emigrants who traveled to farm the land or to large cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
Spread from Rejsen til New York shows one girl traveling in modern times and one girl traveling in the old days
Nora flies from Copenhagen to New York in 2024. Anna, around 1900, sails onboard the steamship SS Island
Illustration from the book shows a map of the journey of the ship SS Island
The steamship SS Island belonged to the Danish shipping company Scandinavian American Line

Book trailer on YouTube

Reviews

"An unusually well-thought-through and wonderful picture book that shows the differences, but also the similarities, between two trips to New York today and 120 years ago." Jette, Aarhus Public Libraries

"The book serves as an excellent starting point for learning about “America fever” and the large waves of emigration from Denmark. Modern children will find it exciting to compare their own impression of New York to Anna's experience of a changing city over 100 years ago." Pernille Ripp, Global Read Aloud
"... fun, touching and informative." ​Hyggegeek Litteratur
"The story of Nora and Anna is a really nice "history book" ... Here, the Danish emigration story is put into a fictional frame ..." ... "It's a book you can read aloud to children in kindergarten and early elementary school… the illustrations are nice and follow the story symmetrically, so it can also be a book for independent reading for new readers." Bodil Christensen, Bogbotten

"I love stories about then and now. You often find them in adult literature, and now you can also find them in this beautiful picture book for children. ... At the end of the book, Catrine Kyster has written a section with questions for reflection and talking to the child. I love that!" Hyggegeek Litteratur

DBC/Official library review: "A really nice story with two parallel stories, told at a calm pace, where you easily understand that the two girls' lives and circumstances have been very different, but also contain certain similarities. ... A story about the Danish emigrants, who are an important piece of the Danes' historical heritage. ... Ideal for talking about life then and now, and a book with really cute illustrations." 
An illustration from the book shows two girls approaching the Statue of Liberty in two different ages
"The Journey to New York - Then and Now" is illustrated by Signe Gabriel

A book about Danish emigration written by a Danish immigrant

The Danish American newspaper The Danish Pioneer wrote about what "The Journey to New York - Then and Now" means to me as a Danish immigrant and Danish American. Read or download the article here (pdf): 

Facts

  • Rejsen til New York - dengang og nu (The Journey to New York - Then and Now) - in the Danish language only at this time
  • Gads Forlag, 2024
  • Text: Catrine Kyster. Illustrator: Signe Gabriel.
  • For kids 4-10 years old 
  • 48 pages, fully illustrated, with two fact pages about Danish emigration
  • Buy in Danmark: Gads Forlag, ​Saxo, Bog&Ide​
  • Buy in the USA: Scandinavian Butik
Picture of cake with characters from the book Rejsen til New York
Cake for celebrating the publication of my first picture book!
Copyright: Catrine Kyster, 2025.