Kirkus Reviews QR Code
AVIVA'S PIANO by Miriam Chaikin

AVIVA'S PIANO

By

Pub Date: March 17th, 1986
Publisher: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin

Aviva lives in Israel on a kibbutz near the Lebanese border. In recounting one exciting day there, Chaikin turns a true incident into a story for children just graduating from easy readers. Recent immigrants to Israel from Argentina, Aviva and her parents eagerly await the delayed arrival of her piano, but when it turns up at last it is too big to bring into their house through window or door, Tearful, Aviva goes to school, which is soon interrupted by a bomb alert. Later, emerging from the shelter, Aviva discovers that the bomb has made a hole in her house through which the piano neatly fit before. Many details of kibbutz life are well integrated into this brief story, pleasantly illustrated by an Israeli artist. Life under the threat of occasional bombs is treated matter-of-factly, as presumably many young children in the world must face such conditions. A welcome addition to the small group of books available on this level.