The Place Where Nobody Stopped - Hardcover

Segal, Jerry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531058972 ISBN 13: 9780531058978

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1991

Synopsis

A fable about friendship set in the darkness of nineteenth-century Russia finds Yosip breaking his self-imposed solitude to save Mordecai by surrendering the last of his ten teeth

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-9-- On the road between Vitebsk and Smolensk there is a small cluster of houses known as "the place where nobody stops." It is here that Yosip the Baker establishes his shop, fleeing from some great grief. He is lonely, but his baking skills are such that customers send from the cities for his babkas, breads, and cakes. Even the Czar's soldiers are entertained by him. His existence is changed entirely by the arrival of Mordecai ben Yahbahbai, a Jewish scholar who gave his life savings to his crooked cousin for promised passports to America for himself, his wife, and their daughter, and is now awaiting their arrival. How Mordecai's growing family (ten children at the book's end) moves in and changes Yosip's life and the lives of everyone in the village forms the rest of the story. Told in a tightly discursive style reminiscent of that of Isaac Bashevis Singer or Cynthia Ozick, this story of the redemptive power of love makes the most of both Mordecai's tendency to ruminate audibly and of the poverty-stricken setting. With very little, these people are happy and, thanks to Segal's interweaving of his theme and depth of characterization, plausibly so. The story is uplifting without glossing over the bleakness of Mordecai's and his fellow inhabitants' situations. It will appeal most to adults or gifted readers with a tolerance (or a penchant) for stories that are longer on thought and message than action. --Ann Welton, University Child Development School, Seattle
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

This evocative, folksy narrative brings to life a place and time seldom explored in children's literature--a small Russian village, circa 1900. Its focus is on the pleasures of community and sharing, as felt by Yosip the baker, the burgeoning Jewish family he takes in and makes a home for, and the village's peasants, who eke out a meager living cutting wood. Yet there are shadows as well, most notably from the repressive, brutal policies of the czar and his cossacks. The first of a trilogy, Segal's debut children's book is a fully realized picture of life with all its joys and sorrows, peopled by vivid characters who are both particularized and universal in their hopes and fears. Pilkey ( A Friend for Dragon ; 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving ) contributes a stunning Chagallian jacket, and his quirky pencil drawings--an intriguing blend of modern and primitive styles--help suggest the force of personalities and place. Ages 11-13.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0531058972
• ISBN 13: 9780531058978
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 154
• Illustrator: Pilkey Dav