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Schubert, Leda

Nathan's Song

32 pp. | Dial | February, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-9848-1578-1 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-9848-1579-8 $10.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maya Ish-Shalom. With a storyteller's cadence, Schubert spins the tale of Nathan, a musically talented boy from a shtetl in Russia who leaves at age sixteen to study opera in Italy. After boarding the wrong ship, he finds himself in New York, but he manages to build a life there with the help of his singing. The life-altering mistake is treated as just a mix-up, and much of the text's tone is light, with the feel of a family story ("While he worked, there was always music in his head. Opera music--the music he yearned to sing"); per the author's note, Nathan is loosely inspired by the author's grandfather. Ish-Shalom's expansive digital illustrations, with their bright palette and simple shapes, include frequent musical notes and depict a cheerful, diverse early-twentieth-century New York. A welcome positive tale about a Jewish immigrant's experience; though it sometimes feels too upbeat, the story acknowledges its title character's difficulties (missing his family; scrimping and saving) and should work as a discussion starter.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

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