Each year just before the High Holidays, the Rabbi of Nemirov disappears. The people are convinced that he goes to heaven to consult with God, but a skeptical (if pious and learned) Litvak refuses to believe in such a miracle. To prove his point, the Litvak secretly follows the Rabbi, who changes into the outfit of a peasant, leaves his house with an ax and some rope, enters the forest and chops some firewood, bringing it neatly tied to the shack of a sick old woman. The Rabbi kindly lights a fire and helps the woman recover enough to dance and sing. The Litvak learns an important lesson: The Rabbi’s altruism places him on a higher level than regular folk. Kimmel has retained the base of the classic Isaac Leib Peretz tale, altering it slightly to have the old woman leave her sick bed to celebrate the joy of life through song and dance and incorporating a Ukrainian folksong that has become a Rosh Hashanah hymn. Weber’s delicate, simple watercolor, crayon and ink drawings add a guileless charm to the Old World shtetl scenes. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2020-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
Nelson uses the old spiritual—offered here, astonishingly, in its first singleton, illustrated edition, though it’s available in many collections—as a springboard to celebrate family togetherness. Each line of a four-verse version of the lyric captions an intimate scene of an African-American lad, three sibs (one, lighter-skinned, perhaps adopted) and two parents in various combinations, posing together in both city (San Francisco) and country settings, sharing “the moon and the stars,” “the wind and the clouds,” “the oceans and the seas,” and so on. Sandwiched between views of, more or less, the whole world, Nelson alternates finished paintings in his characteristic strong, bold style with authentically childlike crayon drawings done with his left hand—demonstrating a superb ability to evoke both grand and naïve effects. Moving, reverent, spiritual indeed. (musical arrangement to close) (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-0-8037-2850-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2005
Schoenherr uses the original setting for the renowned song’s first appearance in this format, capturing its wistful tone with light-drenched scenes that basically reproduce the sets for Fiddler on the Roof, and people in shtetl garb who sometimes resemble the play’s cast members. The lyric is voiced by an adult, and though children won’t find the theme of time’s too-quick passage particularly meaningful, they’ll have no trouble following the two young lovers through courtship and wedding to a final tableau with a child of their own—and will likely join their parents or librarians in singing the lines. So despite the less than venturesome setting, this makes a good choice for intergenerational sharing. Musical arrangement at the end. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-051525-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2005
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