Then the Rules Changed

Isaac knows who he is and what he wants. Then the Czar changes the rules, and he must leave everything to emigrate to a country that is nothing like he imagined, face fears of being snatched away, and learn a new way of living and of being himself.

All people have times of loss, fear, and learning about themselves. These experiences are often intense for emigrants who are in a situation that compels them to leave what they know and confront a difficult unknown world. Then the Rules Changed lets readers see the arduous journey through the eyes of a child.

The story takes place during a large emigration 150 years ago when thousands of German-speaking people left South Russia (including Ukraine) and came to the frontier plains of the United States and Canada. Today these people and their descendants are known as Germans from Russia.

My great-grandparents were among the 1870s immigrants. Impetus for the novel came from a family story about a young boy named Isaac who was lost for three days in a train station during the journey. I used chronicles, diaries, and related history to develop the story. Drawings throughout the book and brief essays and maps at the end explain historical and cultural terms that may not be familiar to readers.

History can seem like something from long ago, but sometimes history and current events collide. After many years of research and writing, the book’s February 2022 release happened to coincide with current events that had similarities with the story.

Comments from Readers

Great historical fiction book for a 3rd through 6th grade classroom. Interesting story for readers of all ages. -HH

You captured the fears, hopes, and dreams of this young person perfectly. Your descriptions of the garb, diet, customs of that Mennonite community as they made the life-altering journey from Czarist Russia to frontier Kansas was spot on. -BB

I’m excited about sharing your book with my daughter, the supplemental resources from your website, and then to connect the museum visit. It’s one of her favorite places! She’s almost 7, but an advanced reader so we’ve read plenty of middle-grade fiction. -JW

Thank you so much for attending our book club meeting. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed your presentation. Your book was so meaningful and touched me greatly. -WC

Good book for adults as well as for kids…down to earth life of these immigrants. -Dr. R

Other Books by Carolyn Zeisset

Sketches, 1877-1981: Remembering Susie

2016, Poetic sketches based on the life and lore of an ordinary but remarkable American Scotch-Irish, washer-woman grandmother, 52 pages

Available from Amazon

A Mennonite Heritage: A Genealogy of the Suderman and Wiens Families, 1800-1975

Parts I and II: cultural history, Part III: genealogy, 350 pages

Limited edition. Available from Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas, 67063, peggyg@tabor.edu