When Feivel, an experienced wood carver, arrives in New York from the old country, he is introduced to the wonders of Brooklyn’s new Coney Island amusement park, where he gains employment with the carousel company, making the transition from carving “the fearsome lions that guarded the holy arks in synagogues” in Europe to carousel horses. Over the course of three years he works hard to help create the magnificently ornate wooden horses while earning enough to send for his family. Van der Sterre’s ink-lined, full-bleed watercolors of women in long skirts and bonnets accompanied by mustachioed men delineate a wondrous late-19th-century Luna Park with a behind-the-scenes look at artisan craftsmanship in a classic workshop. Hyde adds emotion to her simply told tale with Feivel’s loving creation of horse after horse, naming each for his children and their mother. An attractive and unusual look at both a Jewish immigrant’s story and a disappearing pastime and trade. (historical note) (Picture book. 5-8)
