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(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Karla Gudeon.
The story of Hebrew's rebirth as a modern language is told through the experience of lonely child Ben-Zion and his parents Eliezer and Devorah. Starting in the late 1800s, Eliezer revised Hebrew to reflect the modern world, developing a new dictionary and championing schools to teach Hebrew. A critical story of Jewish history illustrated with folk-style pen and watercolor art. Includes biographical and historical afterwords. Reading list.
(1)
K-3
Illustrated by
Edel Rodriguez.
This picture book biography focuses on Nimoy's upbringing in an observant Jewish household in Boston, his rise to fame on Star Trek, and the backstory behind that famous "Live long and prosper" Vulcan hand symbol. Michelson's text is warm and anecdotal. Rodriguez's unfussy illustrations, in sepia browns and out-of-this-world blues, reflect both the time period and the Trekkie universe.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2017
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Doris Ettlinger.
This A–Z poetry volume focusing on the seashore is inessential as an alphabet book but will probably appeal to beach lovers. Though Ettlinger's watercolors are often lovely--particularly where her subjects are water, sky, or animals--the verses are frequently forced: "And true, we have an awful screech / But gulls don't leave their trash behind-- / It's not we who litter the beach."
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Eric Velasquez.
A straightforward, unemotional text tells the story of William Powell, the first African American to design and build--in 1948 Ohio--his own golf course. Although racial discrimination prevented him from playing at public golf courses or even attaining a loan to buy land for a course, Powell was determined. The paintings capture the era's time and place but lack vibrancy.
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Zachary Pullen.
In the mid-1800s, baseball in America was in its infancy when Lipman Pike, a Jewish boy from Brooklyn, began to play. Soon the boy's batting power and speed helped "Lip" become a sought-after homerun leader. The biographical story line is choppy at times; an appended author's note fills in some gaps. Caricaturish illustrations on sepia-colored pages capture the setting.
32 pp.
| Knopf
| May, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-0-375-83334-2$16.99
|
LibraryISBN 978-0-375-93334-9$19.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
R. G. Roth.
Brewster, who is African American, shares his experience starting first grade at a white school. The book's shortcomings (e.g., the story's setting--1970s, during forced busing--isn't initially clear) are secondary to its virtues, which include a subplot about how children develop racist attitudes and dashing illustrations reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats's work.
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Ron Mazellan.
Informative but dense sidebars and singsongy poems with questionable rhymes (e.g., blessed her with ancestor, braided with made it) make up the text of this alphabet book about Judaism that touches on history, observances, and important figures. Realistic illustrations, many dark and somber, effectively display moments of familial warmth as well as symbolic places and figures important to Judaism.
96 pp.
| Simon
| July, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-1424-2$14.99
(4)
YA
Illustrated by
Scott M. Fischer.
Older readers looking for unusual poetry collections may enjoy reading about the inner thoughts and problems faced by a variety of creatures (e.g., "Smart ASS," "Shallow OWL," "Pimp SHRIMP") in an Animals Anonymous program. The volume is designed to look like a school notebook complete with doodles and cartoons. Though the poems themselves vary in quality, the presentation will hook readers.
40 pp.
| Knopf
| May, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-0-375-83335-9$16.99
|
LibraryISBN 978-0-375-93335-6$19.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Raul Colón.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, a rabbi born in Eastern Europe, becomes a stalwart friend to Martin Luther King Jr. as the Baptist preacher urges America toward new standards of equality and freedom. In this story, readers first meet King as a young boy, then Heschel; their shared story later unfolds. The swirling, textured colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations.
40 pp.
| Putnam
| September, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-399-24354-7$16.99
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Mary Azarian.
Tuttles have farmed the same land for twelve generations, and this interesting family saga offers a real sense of history. Michelson's chosen details suggest the arc of social and economic change over four centuries. Azarian's woodcuts make a splendid complement, visualizing costumes, architecture, and historical artifacts and implements with equal felicity. Her down-home pictures epitomize the characters' self-reliance, optimism, and work ethic.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2008
32 pp.
| Putnam
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-399-23970-7$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
E. B. Lewis.
Abe, who is Jewish, is secretly best friends with African American Willie, whose bedroom window is across the alley. At nighttime, Abe teaches Willie to play the violin while Willie helps Abe succeed at baseball. Set in post–World War II Brooklyn, the story captures nuances of time and place, including racism both subtle and overt. Lewis's watercolor paintings exude warmth.
40 pp.
| Harcourt
| September, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-15-205186-4$16.00
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Adam McCauley.
One night a brother tells his terrified kid sister that he'll fight off any ghosts they encounter, but his reassurances ("I'd dress up like a werewolf, / Roooooooooooooar!") only exacerbate her fear. This simple premise is brought to life thanks to crisp rhymes ("Cackle, crackle, thwix, and thwax. / A witch turns demons into snacks") and surrealistic art in ghoulish greenish-browns.
40 pp.
| Cavendish
| September, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-7614-5070-X$$17.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Leonard Baskin.
A clever fusion of math and poetry, this introduction to multiplying by ten features pairs of boastful animals who try to one-up each other mathematically. For example, after an ant brags about its six legs, a crocodile points out: "I have SIXTY teeth. I'm a great masticator. / (That means I chew first, and ask questions later.)" The playful rhyming couplets beg to be read aloud, and Baskin's watercolors are large and dramatic.
56 pp.
| Cavendish
| September, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-7614-5050-5$$18.95
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Leonard Baskin.
A brief, incisive author's note precedes the body of this lively poetic introduction to nine real flies and four insects popularly called flies. Far from stodgy, the book contains attention-getting magnificent illustrations, conversational text with just the kind of detail to entice readers, and poems--jaunty, rhythmic rhymes--that lie lightly on the tongue and ear.
Reviewer: Mary M. Burns
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 1999
15 reviews
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