Dear Elijah - Softcover

Bat-Ami, Miriam

3.62

8 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0827605927 ISBN 13: 9780827605923

Publisher: Jewish Pubn Society, 1997

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When Rebecca Samuelson’s father is hospitalized and can’t be with the family at Passover, Rebecca is distressed. She doesn't want to talk to her friends about her feelings—what can they say except they’re sorry. So she begins a series of letters to Elijah, the prophet who “visits” Jewish homes during the Passover seder.

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From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-7?Rebecca, 12, is from an observant Jewish family. She is troubled because her father is in the cardiac intensive-care unit facing bypass surgery and will be unable to prepare for and celebrate Passover with the family. In an innovative twist to the narrative convention, she works out her anxieties by writing notes (and sometimes lengthy letters) to the prophet Elijah. From March 1-April 20, readers are privy to her anger (at herself, her father, and God), her fears, her desires, and her inability to pray or to be as good a Jew as her father would require; all are played out in her one-sided correspondence. Bat-Ami, commendably, does not succumb to easy answers, but the question still remains, "Why Elijah?" Youngsters will understand that Rebecca has, of course, been thinking about the prophet because of the role he plays in the Passover Seder, but while the premise is interesting, the choice of Elijah as a pen pal for an adolescent girl seems strange. That choice, despite the author's note and glossary, limits the book's appeal to a very specialized audience, well versed in Orthodox Jewish practice and Biblical history.?Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 4^-6. Using the Passover holiday not only as a setting, but also as symbol, this story, told in diary form, chronicles 11-year-old Rebecca Samuelson's life after her father's heart attack. Rebecca decides to address her diary to Elijah, the Old Testament prophet, who, legend has it, visits Jewish houses at Passover. To "E" (as she calls him), Rebecca confides her fears for her father, her soul-searching about her own life, and lots and lots of details about Passover. While some may assume this is primarily for a Jewish audience, plenty of Jewish kids will be nearly ignorant of some of the religious Samuelsons' preparations for the holiday. A glossary helpfully defines terms, but readers may not expect one and so miss it until they've finished the book. The story is at its best when Rebecca gets to the truth about what life is for a kid and when she muses about religion, both her own and others. There are certainly too few books that deal with that topic. But the diary format, especially when it's cutesy, can get tedious, and Passover, with all its preparations, seems a long time coming. Ilene Cooper

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