Synopsis:
The values of the Passover holiday are celebrated as a young girl, discouraged by her inability to perform the impossible tasks demanded by father, is rewarded for her kindness and good deeds to a stranger, who later reveals himself as the prophet Elijah.
From School Library Journal:
Kindergarten-Grade 4?In the tradition of Rumpelstiltskin, this charming tale tells of a poor Jewish water carrier who lives in a shtetl in pre-war Eastern Europe with his loving, good-hearted, creative daughter. He boasts to the wealthy hay merchant that Gittel can outdo first the man's seamstress, and then his cook in return for some hay. The merchant cheats the girl's father by failing to provide her with a sewing needle and firewood for the stove. But Gittel does make a silver Elijah's cup, candlesticks, and Seder plates with the help of the prophet himself, who responds to her kindness toward a trapped dove, a starving cat, and a shivering beggar. Lattimore's deft use of oil pastels on watercolor paintings gives texture to her boldly colored, slightly askew scenes of the village, in which people and a brightly colored cat and bird float in the style of Marc Chagall. Hues of blue, green, pink, and yellow seem to flow like a great river across the pages, carrying the images along. Told in the careful words of a storyteller, with a bit of repetition thrown in for good measure, the story embodies the essence of the Passover holiday in a traditional folktale motif. Read aloud, it will delight young audiences.?Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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