Author Jen Bryant and illustrator Boris Kulikov explore the childhood of Louis Braille in this lovely picture-book, describing how he came to be blindAuthor Jen Bryant and illustrator Boris Kulikov explore the childhood of Louis Braille in this lovely picture-book, describing how he came to be blind at a young age, and how he struggled with the fact that there were no books for him to read. Eventually sent to the Royal School for the Blind in Paris, he was inspired by a code of raised dots used for nighttime battle communication to create braille writing. A revolutionary system, one that has been adopted in many countries, this raised dot alphabet allowed blind students to read and write easily for the first time, and was an astonishing creation, given Louis Braille's mere fifteen years of age, at the time of invention. The book concludes with an afterword that gives more information about braille and its inventor, and that provides a list of reading ideas and resources...
Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille is the fourth picture-book biography I have read from Bryant, following upon The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, all of which were illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Kulikov has a very different style to Sweet, but I found his artwork engaging, and thought it well-suited to the narrative. I particularly appreciated the use of a black background in those scenes in which Louis attempts to make sense of the world around him without his sight, as this gives visual emphasis to his different perceptual experiences, compared to his family and the people in his village. This isn't the story of Braille's entire life, but of his youth and the process whereby he invented braille writing. As Bryant explains in her afterword, it is an attempt to explore how he must have felt, losing his sight, and then struggling to find a way to read and learn. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy biographies, or who are interested in braille writing and/or the experiences of the blind.
Addendum: I don't often address other reviews in my own responses, but I am somewhat surprised and dismayed to see that a number of people have panned this one, because the braille writing system isn't represented here in braille. I find this rather puzzling, as these fellow readers must be aware that the book is intended for sighted children. After all, none of them seem to be objecting to the presence of artwork, which requires sight in order to appreciate. While I do think it would have been a nice touch, and quite educational, if a page of braille had been included, I do understand that it is costly to produce, and that the publisher may not have been able to include it. Disappointment at the absence of braille may be understandable - I think it's a missed opportunity myself - but to give the book one star as a result, or to say that it cannot be recommended, strikes me as ludicrously unreasonable....more
A blind young shepherd girl lives alone with her grandfather in this original fairy-tale from author Carol Carrick and illustrator Alisher Dianov. WheA blind young shepherd girl lives alone with her grandfather in this original fairy-tale from author Carol Carrick and illustrator Alisher Dianov. When Melanie's grandfather learns of a healer that might be able to cure her blindness, he sets out to find him, only to fall victim to the evil troll guarding the bridge leading to the next city. Melanie, waiting for his return in vain, eventually sets out in pursuit, traveling through the Dark Forest and confronting the troll in order to free her beloved grandfather...
I was intrigued by the premise of Melanie, which I happened upon while seeking out more of author Carol Carrick's work, after enjoying her Old Mother Witch. I liked the idea of a blind fairy-tale heroine, and was curious to see what Carrick would do with it. All in all, I found the story fairly engaging, but nowhere near as engrossing or emotionally involving as some of the author's other stories. The constituent story elements all felt like they could have been taken from various folk traditions, but somehow the story as a whole didn't quite hang together. The illustrations from Dianov, whose work I have encountered before, in Aaron Shepard's The Enchanted Storks: A Tale of Bagdad, were a mixed bag for me. I liked the decorative borders used throughout, but I found that I preferred the simpler scenes featuring one or two characters, to the more complex ones in the town and marketplace, which felt too crowded and overwhelming.
All in all, this was an enjoyable, but far from outstanding example of an original fairy-tale. What really stood out to me was the heroine's blindness, although I'm not sure the story was entirely believable, given that blindness. Mileage varies, of course, so I'd still recommend this one to fairy-tale fans, and to anyone seeking fantastical stories featuring blind and/or disabled characters....more
Born blind, Annie learns to navigate the world around her through her sense of smell, guided by aromas in everything. As she grows up, her favorite acBorn blind, Annie learns to navigate the world around her through her sense of smell, guided by aromas in everything. As she grows up, her favorite activity - cooking with her grandmother - turns into a vocation, and she uses her culinary arts to help those around her, crafting superb and highly individual dishes that suite the emotional needs to each person. Then one day Julian comes to her, hoping to find help with his lethargy, but despite everything she does, he keeps returning for more help. Have Annie's culinary arts failed her, or is there something else that Julian is seeking...?
Originally published in Spain as La niña que caminaba entre aromas, this lovely picture-book pairs an engaging and magical story from Argentine expatriate author Ariel Andrés Almada, and gorgeous artwork from German illustrator Sonja Wimmer. I appreciated the positive way in which the story depicted a blind character interacting with her world, becoming the figure who helps others, rather than one who needs help herself. The beautiful artwork is well suited to the story, capturing and amplifying the fairy-tale feeling of the narrative. This is the second book I have read from Almada, following upon her The Lighthouse of Souls, which I also found beautiful, and the first from Wimmer. I will hope to read more from both of them! I would recommend Walking Through a World of Aromas to anyone looking for children's stories featuring blind characters, cooking and/or food as a theme, or interested in children's books from Spain....more
When the narrator of this engaging work of children's fiction from 1830 is sent to stay in the small and quintessentially English village of Little HaWhen the narrator of this engaging work of children's fiction from 1830 is sent to stay in the small and quintessentially English village of Little Hampton, in Sussex, she is befriended by a local lady, one Lucy Ashburton. Falling ill, the narrator is visited and comforted by the elderly Mrs. Ashburton, who recounts to her some of the experiences of her thirty years spent in educating young girls. Divided into seven sections, these "chronicles of a school room" begin with the story of Marie de Jariot, a French noblewoman who comes to England after her husband is murdered in the French Revolution, and who becomes an assistant teacher to Mrs. Ashburton. The six stories that follow each focus on a different pupil or set of pupils instructed by the storyteller, and include:
Millicent O'Brian, which follows a twelve-year-old Irish girl who comes to England, and whose education with Mrs. Ashburton stands her in good stead, as her family and personal fortunes fall, and then rise again.
Sweet May Douglas, in which a mischievous but merry Highland girl grows from young childhood through young womanhood in Mrs. Ashburton's care, and eventually becomes a great benefactress amongst the people of her Scottish clan.
In The Two Indians, sisters Laura and Dinah Van Leyden, raised in Bengal, are sent to England to be educated by Mrs. Ashburton. Dinah is initially led astray by a very wicked girl, a fellow pupil whose extraordinary misdeeds include drugging her teacher, Miss Massenger, with laudanum (!!). Needless to say, this girl comes to a very bad end, providing a moral lesson to the sisters.
The Painter's Sister sees Clarinda Davenport also being sent to England for her schooling, and follows her as she gains an appreciation for a more well-rounded education, one which encompasses subjects other than art. Her more wide-ranging knowledge is useful, when she must eventually care for her brother.
Zillah Penrose see a young Quaker girl being entrusted to Mrs. Ashburton's care by her father, a childhood beau of the governess herself. Although the demands of Zillah's religion must be accommodated in her education, she eventually becomes an accomplished young woman, and a respectable matron of the Quaker community in the American city of Philadelphia.
Finally, in The Deaf and the Blind, twin sisters Clara and Anna Damer, the one blind (Clara) and the other deaf (Anna), come to Miss Ashburton's school, where the latter must struggle with her resentment, and fear that others are speaking behind her back. Eventually, each sisters makes an advantageous match.
Despite the title, only a few of the scenes in Chronicles of a School Room actually occur in the eponymous room, although the theme of education - how best it should be conducted, its benefit in times both happy and sad - is a primary theme of the book. Although its first came to my attention in Sue Sims and Hilary Clare's The Encyclopaedia of Girls' School Stories, it is not really a school story, in a proper sense. It is however, a well-written, engaging work, one I read with pleasure. Anna Maria Hall, who published as Mrs. S.C (Samuel Carter) Hall, was an Irish novelist, one who wrote for both children and adults. This work for children is dedicated to Barbara Hofland, a celebrated and prolific children's author of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It's interesting to note that Mrs. Hall's work was not particularly popular in Ireland, as she criticized both the Catholic and Protestant factions in that country, something one sees here in the story of Millicent O'Brian. When the subject of this story returns to Ireland with her husband, she begins a benevolent career helping her tenants, something that the author claims did more good than "the thousand and one writers, for and against Catholic Emancipation ever did (I dare not say ever could) effect."
Also of interest is the way in which disability is discussed in the final story. Mrs. Ashburton tells her listener that she has a natural sympathy for the blind, because of their misfortune, and she takes both Damer sisters in, implying that she has no issue with the idea of the disabled being educated. This is important, because deaf people in particular, were often considered mentally deficient by those around them in this period. Mrs Ashburton does assert at one point that being suspicious of others is a "besetting sin of deaf persons," who are "too apt to imagine that you are either talking of them, or at them." This stereotype of deaf people is not one I am familiar with, but the passages in question did make me wonder whether the speaker's mix of progressive and prejudiced attitudes were typical of that time and place, or whether (as I suspect) they were somewhat unusual. Not being well versed enough in the history of disabled people and their treatment, I am unsure. I did note another progressive episode, in the story of the Van Leyden sisters, who are apparently biracial - Mrs. Ashburton speaks of "some distant Hindoo origin - some intermarriage of gone-by times" - who are frequently described as both beautiful and brown, and who are taken to the teacher's heart. This also, strikes me as atypical.
Leaving aside such questions, this was simply a well-written little book. I wouldn't describe it as gripping, as it is far too episodic for that, but it is well told and engaging. Recommended to anyone interested in early 19th-century English children's literature, or in girls' educational narratives in that literature....more
Yoda, the Persian cat who enjoys caring for the foster kitties his human takes in, returns in this follow up to the eponymous Yoda: The Story of a Yoda, the Persian cat who enjoys caring for the foster kitties his human takes in, returns in this follow up to the eponymous Yoda: The Story of a Cat and His Kittens. In this second installment, Yoda meets Buddy, a very special cat who becomes his assistant in caring for the foster kittens. An immediate hit with the little felines, because of his sense of humor and adventurous spirit, Buddy has an important lesson to teach his charges when they begin to bully a new kitten. As a blind cat himself, he knows what it feels like to be different...
Like its predecessor, Yoda Gets a Buddy pairs a sweet story with cute, colorful illustrations, teaching a gentle lesson about accepting difference and disability, and learning to get along with new playmates. As with the first book, co-author Beth Stern is donating all of her proceeds from this title to the North Shore Animal League, where she volunteers. Although I wouldn't describe the Yoda books as particular favorites, I have enjoyed reading them - it probably helps that I love cats, and enjoy most stories about cats. Recommended to anyone who liked the first Yoda book, and to anyone looking for children's stories addressing issues of difference, disability and bullying in a gentle and positive way....more
Laura E. Richards, a late nineteenth and early twentieth-century author best known for her girls' series about "Queen Hildegarde" and the "Three MargaLaura E. Richards, a late nineteenth and early twentieth-century author best known for her girls' series about "Queen Hildegarde" and the "Three Margarets," as well as her Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of her mother, Julia Ward Howe, who penned the words to The Battle Hymn of the Republic, relates the story of twelve-year-old Melody in this brief ninety-page children's novel, published in 1893. Orphaned as an infant, when her mother dies in the poor house, blind Melody is adopted by the Dale sisters - stern, but kind Aunt Vesta, and the gentle invalid Aunt Rejoice - and raised in a simple style in their small New England village. With a beautiful voice and a kind heart, she wins a special place in the life of the village, and is sorely missed when a traveling showman overhears her singing and, unable to convince Vesta Dale to part with her, kidnaps her from her home. Will Vesta and Mr. De Arthenay - a talented fiddler known as "Rosin the Beau" - be able to track her down...?
I enjoyed Melody: The Story of a Child, although I don't think it is the equal of some of the author's later work. There is far more self-conscious piety here than in books like Queen Hildegarde or Three Margarets, with Melody exhibiting a saintly temperament, and converting all around her, from quarreling villagers to her own kidnapper, to a more virtuous, godly frame of mind. On the other hand, it's quite interesting to see the sympathetic portrait of a young blind person that is painted here, given the fact that Richards' father was Samuel Gridley Howe, the reformer who, amongst other things, founded the Perkins School for the Blind. One certainly sees the influence of his work in this brief tale. I've become quite interested in Laura E. Richards' juvenile fiction, so although this isn't destined to become a favorite, I will be continuing with the series, and reading Marie next. Recommended to readers who enjoy 19th century children's fare, as well as to fellow admirers of the author....more
A young boy named Oscar teaches his best friend and classmate, Lucy, how to understand the "secret code" of Braille in this easy reader, part of the RA young boy named Oscar teaches his best friend and classmate, Lucy, how to understand the "secret code" of Braille in this easy reader, part of the Rookie Readers series. With a simple sentence on each two-page spread, and colorful cartoon-like illustrations, author Dana Meachen Rau and illustrator Bari Weissman spin a satisfying tale of two friends that, though they use different methods, share their love of reading with one another.
I don't think I would have picked The Secret Code up - I tend to avoid this sort of very basic early-reader - were it not one of our official selections over in the Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this month is people facing physical challenges. I liked the fact that Oscar's blindness is presented in such a matter-of-fact way - no trauma here, folks! - and that the theme of children with different abilities is presented in an early-reader format. This is a title one might expect to find in any classroom, as part of the materials available to help children learn to read, making its themes all the more welcome! Beginning readers will enjoy the story, learn a little bit about Braille, and (if they're anything like me!) have fun translating the letter that Oscar sends to Lucy, toward the end of the book!...more
When Davey joins Ms. Madison's class, the other students soon discover that their new classmate likes to do things for himself. He may be blind, but tWhen Davey joins Ms. Madison's class, the other students soon discover that their new classmate likes to do things for himself. He may be blind, but that doesn't mean he needs to hold anyone's hand to get through the lunch line, have someone else open his bottles for him, or throw away his trash. Responding instinctively to his self-confidence, and obvious independence, the other children accept Davey as he is. But when a game of kickball ends with a series of missed kicks, and a mishap at first base, it seems they've encountered something he can't do. Or have they...?
I really enjoyed this tale - based on a true story from Genevieve Petrillo's career as a teacher - of a group of children who find an innovative way to make kickball work for their disabled peer. Although we often see portrayals of the cruelty of children, from bullies to bystanders - and these are important behaviors to explore - it's good to be reminded that young people also have within them the potential for tolerance, and creative problem-solving. I also really liked the fact that Davey learns that sometimes it's OK, even for a disabled kid determined to prove his worth, to accept help. With a wonderful story, and appealing illustrations from Lea Lyon, Keep Your Ear on the Ball would make an excellent selection for disabled children struggling to "fit in," as well as for their friends and classmates. Highly recommended!...more
Opening on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve, this beautifully-told and gorgeously-illustrated original fairy-tale follows a young boy named Finder who seOpening on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve, this beautifully-told and gorgeously-illustrated original fairy-tale follows a young boy named Finder who sets out on a journey to see the king. The recent war had ended, but Finder's father had never returned from the fighting, and now he and his mother and sisters were starving. Taking his father's ring, he set out through the snowy woods, determined to obtain help from the monarch his father had served. Becoming lost instead, he meets up with an old blind man, troubled in body and spirit by the wounds of war, who is seeking the magical white stag. Pressed into helping the old man on his quest, Finder is witness to the beauty and majesty of this cervine prey, and the way in which it allows itself to be wounded, in order to offer healing to the old man. Cured by the stag's blood, the old man leads Finder to the king's palace, where a surprise awaits him...
A breathtakingly beautiful picture book, Night of the White Stag was originally published in 1999, and is a title I have been meaning to track down for many years. Yvonne Gilbert, sometimes credited as Anne Yvonne Gilbert, is a masterful artist—her version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans is one of my favorite fairy-tale picture books of all time—so I knew I would love the visuals here. In this regard, I was certainly not mistaken, finding her work every bit as enthralling as expected. There is a dreamy, ethereal quality to some of the scenes, that contrasts wonderfully with the melancholy of the tale, in which survivors of terrible trauma struggle through a wintry world. I loved the use of color here, with a palette that is deep and lovely, but also somehow muted, and I was engrossed by the tenderly expressive faces of the human characters, throughout. This is certainly a masterpiece, from a visual perspective, and deserves to be better known.
What I didn't expect, and what elevated Night of the White Stag from a four or four-and-a-half star book to that rare five-star title, was the story, which was more than just a fairy-tale. Author M.C. Helldorfer's brief afterword about her sources mentioned a number of folkloric inspirations, including the legend of St. Eustace, in which a hunting saint pursues a stag with a cross between its horns; as well as medieval literary antecedents such as Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess, in which a knight finds consolation after the death of his wife in a vision he has while on a hunt. A more recent source was the 1642 Huron Carol, which offers a Native American retelling of the Nativity Story. This wealth of association is certainly interesting, and I can see how each is tied to important themes in the tale, from the sacred nature of the eponymous stag to the healing offered by a sojourn in the wild. For me, the most powerful was the way in which the stag was clearly a Christ stand-in, given the Christmas Eve setting, and the way in which he was described, with eyes that were "dark and old as night, gentle as love," and the way in which he permitted the old man to harm him.
With a powerful and deeply-felt tale, and artwork that is simply gorgeous, this is a book I would highly recommend! It mystifies me that it seems to have slipped into an undeserved obscurity, and I hope it is soon republished....more
Based on the story of a real-life woman and her seeing-eye dog - musician and teacher Sarah Gregory Smith, and Labrador retriever Perry - Glenna Lang'Based on the story of a real-life woman and her seeing-eye dog - musician and teacher Sarah Gregory Smith, and Labrador retriever Perry - Glenna Lang's Looking Out for Sarah is an engaging picture-book that follows its subjects through one of their busy days. From their morning errands to their afternoon visit to a school, where Sarah sings to, and speaks with groups of young students - not to mention a flashback in which Perry recalls the 300-hundred-mile walk from Boston to New York that he and Sarah once undertook, in order to draw attention to the vital services provided by seeing-eye dogs - the narrative chronicles their active life from Perry's perspective.
I appreciated the fact that Lang's story is told from the canine perspective, as I think that will give young readers added insight into the way that person and dog interact, in situations such as this. I also really liked that while Perry is clearly a hard-working dog, he still has his little doggy quirks and foibles - who could resist all those crumbs?! - and still needs plenty of love and affection. The gouache illustrations are a little flat, but work well with the subject matter and story. All in all, Looking Out for Sarah is an engaging picture-book, one I would recommend to young readers interested in stories of seeing-eye dogs, people with disabilities, or just animal tales in general....more
I stumbled across this brief and somewhat bitter autobiography more than a decade ago, while looking for books about women in modern-day Iran. This waI stumbled across this brief and somewhat bitter autobiography more than a decade ago, while looking for books about women in modern-day Iran. This was long before the world had heard of Marjane Satrapi or Shirin Ebadi.
Born to a poor family in a Kurdish village in Iran, Kordi lost her eyesight at the young age of three, a development that only added to the challenges she faced growing up female in a male-dominated culture. The narrator's troubled relationship with her mother; her almost-miraculous removal to a school for the blind run by English missionaries; her tragic history of abuse at the hands of one of her teachers once there; and her tenure as the first blind student (male or female) to attend the University of Tehran; are all set out in this short memoir.
I recall being impressed, not only with the litany of suffering contained in Kordi's life story, but by the complete absence of that peculiar kind of sensationalism that sometimes characterizes "traumatic memoirs" here in the United States. Recommended to anyone researching the position of women or the disabled in Iran, or anyone who likes to read biographies of less-than-famous individuals....more
I stumbled across Rosanna Hansen's Panda: A Guide Horse for Ann at my public library this past weekend, and being intrigued by the idea of miniature hI stumbled across Rosanna Hansen's Panda: A Guide Horse for Ann at my public library this past weekend, and being intrigued by the idea of miniature horses being used as seeing-eye animals, checked it out on impulse. I'm glad that I did, as I really enjoyed the main "story" - in which Panda and Ann train with one another - and think I learned quite a bit, about the potential that miniature horses hold, as helping animals for blind people. Hansen first takes the reader through some of Ann's activities with Panda, before turning to the story of the very first seeing-eye horse, Cuddles, and her trainers in North Carolina, and concluding with the tale of Panda's purchase and training, in upstate New York. The text is copiously illustrated with color photographs by Neil Soderstrom.
According to The Guide Horse Foundation, miniature horses are a good choice for the blind because they are long-lived, intelligent, have excellent sight, and a calm temperament. This informative picture-book has really convinced me that this is true, and while seeing-eye horses are not yet that common, I imagine that they will become so in the future, as disabled people with allergies to, or phobias of, dogs look for other options. Recommended to young horse lovers looking for something a little different, and to those interested in helping animals....more
In this elementary chapter book from Becky Hall - there are nine chapters, but each one is only two or three pages - the story of Morris Frank, a blinIn this elementary chapter book from Becky Hall - there are nine chapters, but each one is only two or three pages - the story of Morris Frank, a blind young man living in 1920s Nashville, who became the first American recipient of a seeing-eye dog, and went on to help others, by founding The Seeing Eye, is simply and effectively told. Blinded in a boxing accident at the age of sixteen, Morris was dependent on human guides to get around, and when he traveled to Switzerland, after reading an article about German shepherds being bred to aid soldiers blinded in WWI, he had to be shipped as a "package," by American Express! Once in Switzerland, at the estate of wealthy American Dorothy Harrison Eustis, Morris met his very first canine helper, Buddy (originally named Kiss!), and began training with her...
Informative and engaging, Morris and Buddy is everything that a children's biography should be! The narrative draws the reader into the story, making her feel as if she is in Morris's shoes. The text is simple enough to be read by elementary school students, but doesn't feel dumbed down, giving plenty of information about its fascinating subject. The artwork, which ranges from full-page paintings to inset chapter-heading illustrations, is appealing and warm, capturing Morris's feelings - trepidation, joy - in each scene, and Buddy's alert beauty. Highly recommended to young readers interested in seeing-eye dogs, and how they first came to be used in this most impressive canine-human partnership....more
Making his way home one day, Tsering eagerly anticipates his grandmother's thukpa, or noodle soup. Greeting and helping each community member that he Making his way home one day, Tsering eagerly anticipates his grandmother's thukpa, or noodle soup. Greeting and helping each community member that he meets along the way, he invites them back to enjoy that delicious dish, arriving home with the news that quite a crowd is expected. His grandmother gets busy preparing for the guests, each of whom brings a contribution to the meal, but how will the thukpa be prepared, when a power outage leaves everyone in darkness? It turns out that Tsering, who is blind, knows just how to help...
Published in India, by the Chennai-based publisher Karadi Tales, Thukpa for All is the first story I have ever read that is set in the Ladakh region of northern India. It reminded me a bit of the recent American picture-book, Thank You, Omu!, in which an elderly woman prepares her delicious stew for all of her neighbors, each of whom also brings a contribution. Although there are similar themes of community and food in co-authors Praba Ram and Sheela Preuitt's tale, there is also a focus on the cook's grandson, and on the matter-of-fact way in which his disability is accepted by his friends and neighbors. I can see why this was included in the 2019 IBBY Catalog of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities, as Tsering's blindness, far from being treated as a calamity, is accepted without comment by all, and actually proves an advantage in certain circumstances. The story is engaging, with plenty of onomatopoeia to keep young children listening, while the accompanying artwork from Shilpa Ranade is (although not my personal cup of tea) colorful and expressive. There is even a recipe for thukpa at the rear of the book! Recommended to anyone looking for new children's stories featuring community and sharing, characters who are blind, and an Indian/Ladakh cultural setting....more
Cakes and Miracles (2010 edition), illustrated by Jaime Zollars.
I'm a big fan of Purim - a Jewish holiday celebrating the biblical story of Esther, inCakes and Miracles (2010 edition), illustrated by Jaime Zollars.
I'm a big fan of Purim - a Jewish holiday celebrating the biblical story of Esther, in which children dress up in costumes, plays are given, and sweets (like Hamantaschen) are eaten - so when I learned that a new Purim picture-book was due out this coming November, I was quite excited. As it turns out, Barbara Diamond Goldin's Cakes and Miracles is a 2010 reissue of a picture-book first released in 1991, with new illustrations, and a shorter text. As always, in a case like this, I decided to read the two editions in tandem, in order to compare and contrast.
The tale of Hershel, a young blind boy who wants to participate in the Purim baking, as a means of helping his hard-working mother, this is a holiday story that incorporates a number of themes, from learning to live with a disability, to following one's dreams, no matter the obstacle. The text is simple and engaging, and the collage and acrylic illustrations appealing. I loved the colors Zollars used here, from her warm golden hues to her melancholy purples. All in all, a lovely Purim tale, one I might have given four stars. Unfortunately, after comparing this 2010 version with the original, from 1991, I found that while I prefer the newer artwork, I also prefer the original, unexpurgated text. In the end, I settled on three stars for each....more
Cakes and Miracles (1991 edition), illustrated by Erika Weihs.
As mentioned in my review of the 2010 reprint of this title, illustrated by Jaime ZollarCakes and Miracles (1991 edition), illustrated by Erika Weihs.
As mentioned in my review of the 2010 reprint of this title, illustrated by Jaime Zollars, when a picture-book is repackaged in this way - new artwork, edited text - I tend to want to find the original as well, and compare and contrast the different editions. Even when there's no textual difference (as with Jane Yolen's The Seeing Stick, for example), I still enjoy comparing illustrative interpretation. Oddly enough, I read the newer version of Cakes and Miracles first, before realizing that there even was a difference in text, so I was on the lookout, with this 1991 edition, for any pieces of narrative that weren't included in the 2010 reprint.
What I discovered, to my surprise, was that the differences were not insignificant, and while the newer edition does preserve the basic storyline and meaning of the original, a lot of the nuance - particularly the more poignant and/or disturbing elements of the tale - were omitted. The scene in which Hershel makes mischief in school, for instance, setting a frog loose in Reb Shimmel's class; or the one in which his mother says: "If you had eyes you could..." (something Hershel didn't like to hear), were deleted from the 2010 text. I'm sure the intention was to make a simpler story, suitable for the youngest readers, but the result was a much "sweeter" (and flatter) tale, with all the bite missing.
In the end, although I preferred the new illustrations, by Jaime Zollars - Erika Weihs' work is also appealing, in a stylized folk-art way, but isn't as warm and inviting - I liked the original text better. Four stars for the Zollars art, and four for Goldin's original narrative - I ended up giving both editions a three-star rating....more
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