A Picture of Grandmother - Hardcover

Hautzig, Esther

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374359202 ISBN 13: 9780374359201

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2002

Synopsis

A moving story of a secret that tears a family apart and the love that brings it together

When Sara sees the large blue-and-white envelope that came in the mail, she knows it's from her uncle Benjamin in America. Usually he sends wonderful photographs of his life in Brooklyn, but this time Benjamin has invited Mama and Grandmother Hanna to the 1939 World's Fair in New York, and instead of sending pictures, he's requested an old photo of his mother - a picture that Sara has never seen and a request that upsets her mother. Assuming that the photo has been lost, Sara takes it upon herself to find it. But no one in the family will talk to her about it. That's why Sara goes to visit her outspoken aunt Lisa, knowing she will have some answers for her. But the answer Sara gets is one she never expected to hear.

Esther Hautzig's clear, evocative telling and Beth Peck's lovely renderings from old photographs create a vivid portrait of a family on the eve of World War II.

About this title

About the Author:

Esther Hautzig is the author of The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, as well as many other acclaimed works. She lives in New York City.

Beth Peck is the illustrator of many books for children, including Colby Rodowsky's Jason Rat-a-tat. She lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

From Publishers Weekly:

Sheltered by her close-knit, extended Jewish family in Vilna, Sara catches a whiff of mystery when a letter arrives from her American uncle. He has sent her mother and grandmother tickets for the 1939 World's Fair and has asked for a specific photo of Grandmother. The apparently straightforward request triggers hushed phone conversations, and Sara's normally kind mother evades the girl's questions and turns snappish when Sara persists. A crusty great-aunt tells Sara the truth-that her mother and uncle's mother died when they were young, and that the woman Sara calls grandmother is really their stepmother. While the explanations for the deceptions seem a little trumped-up, the characters brim with life, and each leaves the impression of a rich personal history. Hautzig (The Endless Steppe) is at her best when evoking childhood idylls. Sara spends hours making invitations and place cards for a family party, which everyone attends in his best clothes (even Uncle Eli, "who hated to be in `party uniform' "), and she loves Vilna so much that she plans to be a tour guide when she grows up. Sara's profound identification with her family and her pride in Vilna, however, open a hole in the book-Hautzig never alludes to Hitler, but the audience is likely to know something of the terrors that await the Jews of Vilna. It may be impossible for readers to experience the story that Hautzig tells without sensing the imminent shadow of that which she leaves unsaid. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0374359202
• ISBN 13: 9780374359201
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Peck Beth