A loving testament to light and hope and the vision of a remarkable woman.
A Jewish Polish woman resurrects her hometown through photographs.
Yaffa Eliach (1935-2016) grew up in the shtetl town of Eishyshok, Poland. She and her family lived there contentedly until the Germans occupied the town in 1941 and murdered most of its Jewish population. Yaffa and her family escaped and hid until the war ended. Before, one of Yaffa’s favorite childhood activities was assisting her grandmother, the town photographer, who documented weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other celebrations; these photos were mailed to relatives around the world. Years later, Yaffa, now a married history professor and Holocaust scholar residing in America, was tasked by President Jimmy Carter with creating an exhibit for Washington, D.C.’s new United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Determined to celebrate life instead of destruction, Yaffa spent years tracking down thousands of photos of Eishyshok’s residents and descendants, traveling around America and the world. The result: the Tower of Life, depicted in a 90-degree book turn. One of the actual photos contained in the memorial—included herein—shows Yaffa herself as a child in Eishyshok in her father’s arms; another childhood photo of Yaffa is also included in the book. Though it tackles dark themes, this heartfelt story is ultimately uplifting. The illustrations, rendered in ink, watercolor, and digital collage, brim with warm, colorful details. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A loving testament to light and hope and the vision of a remarkable woman. (timeline, bibliography, author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-22589-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal.
Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model.
Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw scary men marching in his New Orleans neighborhood (“It sounded like they were yelling ‘Hi, Hitler!’ ”). In response to his questions, his father took him to see a newsreel of Jesse Owens (“a runner who looked like me”) triumphing in the 1936 Olympics. “Racism is a sickness,” his father tells him. “We’ve got to help folks like that.” How? “Well, you can start by just being the best person you can be,” his father replies. “It’s what you do that counts.” In James’ hazy chalk pastels, Andrew joins racially diverse playmates (including a White child with an Irish accent proudly displaying the nickel he got from his aunt as a bribe to stop playing with “those Colored boys”) in tag and other games, playing catch with his dad, sitting in the midst of a cheering crowd in the local theater’s segregated balcony, and finally visualizing himself pelting down a track alongside his new hero—“head up, back straight, eyes focused,” as a thematically repeated line has it, on the finish line. An afterword by Young Shelton explains that she retold this story, told to her many times growing up, drawing from conversations with Young and from her own research; family photos are also included. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal. (illustrator’s note) (Autobiographical picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-545-55465-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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