reviews - Jewish Book Council

The Champion
of Children:
The Story of
Janusz Korczak
Tomek Bogacki
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. 40 pp. $17.99
ISBN: 978-0374341367
In death as in life, the story of Dr. Janusz
Korczak, the Jewish-Polish physician and
Warsaw orphanage director continues to captivate
people around the world. When I was
in Poland recently, it was clear that Korczak,
the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit, had
become the hero Jew of the nation. His story
of love and devotion for all children was
widely known and widely honored, as it
should be. In this beautiful picture book,
Tomek Bogacki puts a human touch on Korczak’s
life through the use of sensitive text
and evocative acrylic paintings. From early
childhood, Korczak dreamt of a society in
which children would be treated with dignity
and respect. As an adult, his pedagogical writings
and children’s books built his reputation.
In his orphanage, children were allowed to
govern themselves democratically, in effect
creating a caring family environment. Even
when the Nazis forced the removal of the
orphanage into the enclosed walls of the War-
I Am God’s
Paintbrush
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso; Annette Compton, illus.
SkyLights Path Publishing, 2009. 24 pp. $7.99
ISBN: 978-1594732652
Rabbi Sasso has complemented her earlier
book, God’s Paintbrush, with this new toddler
board book that could help a child establish
the relationship between God and man, in
the first person. I Am God’s Paintbrush introduces
the concept that God is within all of us
and that we are conduits for God’s colors and
paintbrush here on earth. The book is presented
as serving as an inter-faith, multicultural,
non-denominational and non-sectarian format.
Sasso begins by introducing the colors in the
world and then switches to music, song and
64 Jewish Book World Spring 5770/2010
saw Ghetto, Korczak tried, with great hardship,
to maintain that level of living. He
declined offers to save himself and boarded
the train to Treblinka with his children.
“Though he couldn’t save his orphans from
the horror of the Holocaust, his insistence
that children have the right to be loved, educated,
and protected has continued to inspire
people all over the world.” For ages 8–12. NHF
Even Higher! A Rosh
Hashanah Story
I.L. Peretz; Eric A. Kimmel, adapter; Jill Weber, illus.
Holiday House, 2009. 24 pp. $16.95
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2020-9
In the original Yiddish short story by I.L.
Peretz, the rabbi of Nemirov disappears on
the days preceding the holy days of Rosh
Hashanah. The Ukrainian villagers believe he
has gone to speak to God on their behalf. A
doubting Litvak, sceptical as men from Lithuania
have a reputation for being, questions the
truth of their belief. Kimmel opens his picture
book adaptation with the core question,
“Where did the rabbi go?” The Litvak determines
to find out. Playful, gouache illustrations,
chock full of cats, chickens, mice, and a
nibbling goat, follow the human rabbi and spying
Litvak as the Litvak hides under the rabbi’s
bed and sneaks behind when the rabbi, dis-
dance. The change feels unexpected and out of
sync with the overall tone and title of the book,
making it especially difficult to initiate these
hard to grasp concepts with young toddlers. A
more consistent approach would have been to
address only the developing metaphor of color,
painting and paintbrush to God throughout
the book rather than additionally embarking
on song and dance. Sasso does return to color
...introduces the concept that
God is within all of us and that
we are conduits for God’s colors
and paintbrush here on earth.
in the closing two pages. The illustrations by
Annette Compton are reminiscent of the
Woodstock era and are bright and abstracted
watercolors that have a sense of childlikeness.
The inside cover provides a statement to adults
on exploring spirituality with children and further
resource titles are also given. In all, the
guised as a peasant, chops wood in the forest
and then lights the fire for a sick woman in the
poorest section of the village. An endnote tells
that the next scene was inspired by Kimmel’s
own grandmother at age 95 - The rabbi sings a
Ukrainian drinking song and pulls the old
woman up to dance - before returning to the
traditional tale. Afterwards, the Litvak, now a
disciple, asserts that the rabbi of Nemirov has
gone even higher than heaven. Aside from a
curious three pages which slow the story down
to over-explain how the Litvak is a doubter, this
is the most child-friendly version of Peretz’s
classic story now in print. Light, upbeat art
with figures like paper doll cut-outs and clear
black font help connect this accessible tale of
truly unselfish giving for readers ages 6–9. SF
Tropical Secrets:
Holocaust
Refugees in Cuba
Margarita Engle
Henry Holt and Company, 2009. 199 pp. $16.95
ISBN: 978-0805089363
Very little has been written about the Holocaust
refugees who, denied entry to the
United States and other countries, found
book attempts to cover a variety of needs: philosophy,
religion, inter-faith, multiculturalism;
however is not entirely successful in doing so.
For ages 1-3. CM
Noah’s Notebook:
How God Saved
Me, My Family, and
the Animals From
the Flood
Allia Zobel Nolan; Linda Clearwater, illus.
Harvest House Publishers, 2009. 32 pp. $14.99
ISBN: 978-0-7369-2508-2
There are many books about Noah’s ark,
and quite a few from the perspective of
different animals, but the imagined journal
Noah kept gives a new point of view. Noah
describes his conversations with God, build-
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