VIOLIN OF HOPE

A beloved violin is lost and found.

The lives of Papa, Mama, Itzak, and Feiga are filled with love and celebration of their Jewish traditions. Papa is an accomplished musician whose beautiful violin has a place of honor in their home. When he plays “quick and lively” songs, the children dance with joy. When Papa’s music turns “slow and sorrowful,” it invites quiet contemplation. Itzak attempts to play the instrument, with ear-bashing results, but Papa assures him that that he’ll improve with practice. Then everything changes. One Shabbos night, soldiers show up and take the violin. It ends up in a cellar, languishing with other looted items “in silence” for many years until it’s rescued by a luthier who lovingly restores it to its former glory. The luthier passes the violin on to a young boy named Isaac, whose father recalls his grandfather’s violin skill. Isaac’s first attempt exactly matches Itzak’s initial screeches, the luthier echoes Itzak’s father’s encouraging phrases and sentiments, and Isaac’s tunes are, by turns, “quick and lively” and “slow and sorrowful.” As a master violinist, in concert halls around world, he plays music of hope. The book doesn’t explicitly mention Nazis or the Holocaust until the author’s note, and the family’s fate is left unspoken. But the striking, detailed, multi-perspective illustrations contain hints for sharp-eyed readers as the author brings this sorrowful yet optimistic tale full circle. The main characters are tan-skinned; background characters are diverse.

Tender, moving, and hopeful.