On each Rosh Hashanah eve, Eli watches his great-grandmother light seven memorial candles, say a prayer and shed a tear over the blessing. Year after year, Eli observes, while not comprehending the sadness his family feels on what should be a happy celebration of the incoming Jewish New Year. His mother and father only tell him “some things are too difficult to talk about.” Following the death of both great-grandparents, Eli takes a trip with his family to Lithuania, the homeland of his ancestors. There they visit the Ponar Forest where a massive gravesite exists for the 100,000 Jews and others who were executed by the Nazi’s during the war. Eli’s introduction to his family’s brutal demise is shocking, yet he quickly understands that it is his turn to remember along with the importance of passing down the stark facts to each succeeding generation. As survivors and the only real witnesses to the Holocaust begin to pass on, educating the young to remember the harsh events of history in order to prevent future genocide is one way to avoid future ambivalence and denial. Although brief, this is a sad, dark, candid look at a boy’s family history coupled with Farnsworth’s equally gloomy blue/gray paintings that evoke a feeling of extreme loss and mourning. While its message is universally significant, its use will be most effective in introductory Holocaust discussions and curriculum. (Picture book. 12-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5309-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
In a snowbound Swiss village, Matti figures it’s a good day to make a gingerbread man. He and his mother mix a batch of gingerbread and tuck it in the oven, but Matti is too impatient to wait ten minutes without peeking. When he opens the door, out pops a gingerbread baby, taunting the familiar refrain, “Catch me if you can.” The brash imp races all over the village, teasing animals and tweaking the noses of the citizenry, until there is a fair crowd on his heels intent on giving him a drubbing. Always he remains just out of reach as he races over the winterscape, beautifully rendered with elegant countryside and architectural details by Brett. All the while, Matti is busy back home, building a gingerbread house to entice the nervy cookie to safe harbor. It works, too, and Matti is able to spirit the gingerbread baby away from the mob. The mischief-maker may be a brat, but the gingerbread cookie is also the agent of good cheer, and Brett allows that spirit to run free on these pages. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23444-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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