A fanciful, beautifully illustrated story about the ingenuity of artists.
A klezmer band must find a fiddler in time for an important Purim party in Strom’s children’s book.
Shloyml Boyml plays trombone in the best klezmer band in Bessarabia. When the prominent rabbi of Shtefeneshter invites the trio—which includes Shloyml as well as his friends Yudl on bass and Tuvia on clarinet—to play at his annual Purim gathering, they leap at the opportunity. The only problem? The rabbi specifically requests they compose a brand-new piece on the violin for the party—and none of them play the violin. Shloyml knows that if they can’t produce a piece of fiddle music and a fiddler to play it, there’s no way that the rabbi will invite them to perform again the next year. The band stages a hasty audition to find a violinist in Shloymls’s uncle’s store, but their efforts are foiled by a jealous (and thoroughly mediocre) rival musician. Feeling defeated, Shloyml gives himself over to despair: “He sat down on a step and buried his head in his hands. Suddenly, he heard something faintly in the distance. It was music.” Shloyml follows the music to its source and discovers a brilliant Romani fiddler named Barbu. But can Shloyml really bring a gentile fiddler to the rabbi’s Purim party? (Perhaps, since they’ll all be wearing masks.) The story is told in both English and Yiddish. Strom’s prose has a folktale simplicity: “Shloyml knew it wasn’t going to be easy to find a fiddler. Any fiddler worth his weight in gold was already engaged to play for a Purim party or to accompany the Purim actors as they went from house to house delivering special Purim treats to their neighbors.” The tale concludes with a piece of sheet music attributed to Shloyml’s band, but the book shines brightest in the gorgeous illustrations by Singer-Fuer. The story is short and rather straightforward, perfect for small children, particularly during the Purim season.
A fanciful, beautifully illustrated story about the ingenuity of artists.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9789198721980
Page Count: -
Publisher: Olniansky Tekst Farlag
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With a universal message of love and community, this book offers a beautiful representation of a too-often-overlooked...
From a debut author-and-illustrator team comes a glimpse into a young American Muslim girl’s family and community as she walks around in “Mommy’s khimar,” or headscarf.
The star of this sunny picture book is a young girl who finds joy in wearing her mother’s khimar, imagining it transforms her into a queen, a star, a mama bird, a superhero. At the core of the story is the love between the girl and her mother. The family appears to be African-American, with brown skin and textured hair. The girl’s braids and twists “form a bumpy crown” under the khimar, which smells of coconut oil and cocoa butter. Adults in her life delight in her appearance in the bright yellow khimar, including her Arabic teacher at the mosque, who calls it a “hijab,” and her grandmother, who visits after Sunday service and calls out “Sweet Jesus!” as she scoops her granddaughter into her arms. Her grandmother is, apparently, a Christian, but “We are a family and we love each other just the same.” The illustrations feature soft pastel colors with dynamic lines and gently patterned backgrounds that complement the story’s joyful tone. The words are often lyrical, and the story artfully includes many cultural details that will delight readers who share the cheerful protagonist’s culture and enlighten readers who don’t.
With a universal message of love and community, this book offers a beautiful representation of a too-often-overlooked cultural group . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0059-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
Both a celebration of and an introduction to the mosque.
Children welcome readers into different mosques to learn about varying activities and services that take place in them.
Though many different mosques and children are depicted, the voices call readers’ attention to the similarities among Muslim communities around the world. Yuksel highlights the community eating together; women, men, and children sharing the space and praying together; grandfathers thumbing their tasbihs; grandmothers reading the Quran; aunties giving hugs; children playing. The effect is to demonstrate that a mosque is more than just a building but rather a space where children and adults come together to pray, give, learn, and play. Joyful characters describe what happens in simple, poetic language: “In my mosque, the muezzin’s call to prayer echoes in the air. I stand shoulder to shoulder with my friends, linked like one long chain.” Aly’s bright illustrations pair well with Yuksel’s words, ending with a beautiful spread of children staring at readers, waving and extending their hands: “You are welcome in my mosque.” The variety of mosques included suggests that each has its own unique architecture, but repeating geometric patterns and shapes underscore that there are similarities too. The author’s note guides readers to her website for more information on the mosques depicted; they are not labeled, which is frustrating since the backmatter also includes a tantalizing list of famous mosques on every continent except Antarctica.
Both a celebration of and an introduction to the mosque. (glossary, sources) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297870-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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