At Sunset

Walking outside as twilight falls after days of gale warnings, the calm is wonderfully comforting.  Pieces of sky are elbowing aside the billowing clouds to show a soft golden glow.  Sunsets, as well as sunrises, hold promises.

Except for those nighttime marauders moving with utmost care, creatures of the natural world seek sanctuary in their homes.  This is the promise of quiet.  The workday for many people throughout the world has come to a close.  This is the promise of rest.

Sunsets on Friday signal the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath; continuing until nightfall on the next day.  This is the promise of celebration.  Chik Chak Shabbat (Candlewick Press, September 3, 2014) written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker eloquently portrays the promise of kindnesses returned.  

Every Saturday, a wonderful smell wafted from apartment 5-A.

This delectable aroma traveled from the fifth floor to Tommy Santiago as he played his tuba on the fourth floor to Signora Bellagalli who bustled about cleaning on the third floor to Mr. Moon on the second floor who wrote his newest novel and all the way to the ground floor where grins grew on the faces of the Omar family as they smelled.  Each of these people knew what was coming.  They could hardly wait for the door to apartment 5-A to open.  

Goldie Simcha would open her arms wide inviting the Santiagos, Signora Bellagalli, Mr. Moon and the Omars to her table to enjoy her freshly made stew, cholent.  None were certain what made it so tasty but all good-naturedly offered opinions.  According to Goldie, who told them of Shabbat preparations shared with her grandmother, it was the things done while the stew simmered for a night and a day which gave it the special flavor.  

One Saturday something was not quite right.  No delicious odor left the fifth floor winding in and out the other apartments on the other floors.  When small Lali Omar knocked on Goldie Simcha's fifth floor door, Goldie said she had been too sick to start the cholent.  It needed to simmer for a night and a day.  

The neighbors were certain it wouldn't be Shabbat without cholent.  Not a word is shared from neighbor to neighbor but a door on the first floor and the doors to 2-B, 3-C and 4-D open as the true spirit of Shabbat spread.  Differences blend to create the secret ingredient. 

Certain smells can trigger powerful memories.  I really appreciate that Mara Rockliff uses the smell of the cooking cholent to introduce us to Goldie Simcha and the other tenants in the apartment building.  Their attempt to determine the best ingredient in the cholent is the perfect opportunity for Goldie to speak about her family traditions during this weekly celebration.  It explains Shabbat to readers in the best possible way.  

Rockliff uses the same rhythm established in the beginning to alert readers to a change in the typical Saturday.  When the neighbors respond to this variance the cadence appears again.  This technique ensures the story will remain in readers' memories.  Here are two small passage samples.

It curled into 4-D, tickling Tommy Santiago's nose as he played his tuba.

It slipped into 3-C, tempting Signora Bellagalli as she bustled around, dusting her teacups.

Rendered in oil paint and collage, the illustrations of Kyrsten Brooker, beginning on the matching dust jacket and book case, bring readers into the charm of the lives lead by the residents of this apartment building.  The swirl of steam from Goldie Simcha's cholent ties everything together.  On the back a separate picture set on a lighter background shows the steam drifting from the pot, lid removed, and a spoon and filled bowl next to it.

A darker and lighter shade of blue form a diamond pattern seen on the opening and closing endpapers. (This is the wallpaper in Goldie's apartment.)  An initial title page framed in blue scroll work on a white background showcases a small image of the ingredients used in making Goldie's cholent.  A lovely double-page illustration of Goldie looking out her apartment window at the cityscape, Shabbat candles lit, presents the more formal title and verso information.

Most of the illustrations span two pages unless the reader needs to pause or the pace of the narrative is shifting.  A color palette favoring blues, browns and creams adds warmth to each scene.  Several times the border used on the initial title page will frame other single page visuals; especially when Goldie is telling her neighbors about Shabbat with her grandmother.

One of my favorite illustrations is when we first see all eight people seated around Goldie Simcha's table eating her cholent.  The joy in a shared celebration is evident on all their faces.  The details in their dress, the dishes and silverware and facial expressions make readers feel as if they too are seated at this table.  

Despite the diversity in their ethnic backgrounds these eight people come together to observe a tradition united by their love of Goldie Simcha and her cholent.  Chik Chak Shabbat written by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker is a book serving several purposes.  It touches our hearts with its story of generosity.   It informs us about the Jewish Shabbat.  It is one more book which serves to illuminate those things people can have in common.  I highly recommend this title.

For more information about Mara Rockliff please follow the link embedded in her name to visit her website.  This link to the publisher's website gives you a peek at another illustration from the book. 

Matched With A Meteorite

When I think about the talents of individual authors, illustrators and author/illustrators it seems to me their work is as unique as they themselves are.  Each is known for their particular gifts when applied to the art of making books for all kinds of readers.  For authors it might be their descriptive settings that tantalize the senses, the realistic, relevant dialogue between characters or a pulse-quickening plot.  A particular medium, color palette or technique applied to their visuals is what usually sets one illustrator apart from another.

When I first read the graphic novel Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword (Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, November 2010, reviewed here by Elizabeth Bird) by Barry Deutsch I was captivated from  the opening page to the final panel, reading it in a single sitting.  Two years later the eleven-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl has returned in Hereville:  How Mirka Met a Meteorite (Amulet Books, an imprint of of Abrams).  Opening the cover of this book, fashioned by an author/illustrator distinguished by his writing and artwork, is stepping into a world unlike any you have ever known.


Being grounded left Mirka with too much time and pent-up energy.  So, under orders from her stepmother Fruma, Mirka turned to knitting.

Unfortunately her limited skills lead her to knit one thing and one thing alone---berets.  Having covered the heads of her entire family, she is now bored and bugging those she can with her urges to sword fight with curtain rods.  One chess game and a chat later with her stepmother, frees her from the confines of her home.

Running to the woods she summons the troll to claim her sword.  Wanting to pay the witch back for initially helping Mirka, the troll casts a spell which backfires; a meteorite is sent plummeting toward not only the witch but Hereville.  There's only one person who can stop the meteorite---the witch.  With only fifteen minutes until Hereville is no more, Mirka sets off running to cover the two mile distance.

Gasping in exhaustion she collapses in the witch's yard with the meteorite in sight before she passes out.  When she awakens the witch informs Mirka the meteorite was transformed with only moments to spare.  Mission accomplished! or so Mirka thinks until she discovers the form the meteorite was given.

It seems Mirka now has a twin given the name Metty.  While it might be handy to have a replica of yourself from time to time, it is not a good thing to have one who not only wants to take over your life but is superior in nearly every way.  As events and emotions reach a fever pitch,  a competition is staged; three contests will determine who gets to stay in Hereville.  Clever siblings, a magical ball of yarn and an unforeseen flight into space seal the fate of both Mirka and Metty.


There is no pause in the pace of Barry Deutsch's narrative.  He holds his reader's attention during a family chess match, word battles with the troll, Mirka's conversations with herself, thoughtful, sometimes anguished, discussions with her stepmother, and the constant conflict with the meteorite, Metty.  To have all these individual threads seamlessly woven into the setting of an Orthodox Jewish community, Hereville, including the weekly holiday of Shabbos, the use of Yiddish terms (meanings noted in footnotes) and other cultural customs (the attire of the witch against the modest clothing worn by others in the community), is the sign of a master wordsmith.


The opening endpapers show in rows of small diamonds the many faces of Mirka.  The closing endpapers feature the many faces of the additional characters in this story, including the monsters (yes, monsters).  With the exception of specific panels of the meteorite in it's original form and those pages when Mirka is in space, Deutsch's color palette is limited to shades of green, brown, and orange along with black and white; his signature style.

The panel sizes and shapes on a given page vary according to the emotions of the characters, the particular sequence of events and the specific point reached in the story.  Readers may see an illustration cover two entire pages, view a series of twelve uniform squares on a single page or observe one visual superimposed on another; all to enhance the story and further involve the reader.  I can not begin to imagine the amount of time, thought and skill it took to design and layout this graphic novel; it's impeccable.


Look no further if you're looking for a flawed but feisty character set squarely in the middle of an action-packed adventure amid a fantastical world.  Hereville:  How Mirka Met a Meteorite by Barry Deutsch is one of those books you devour and go back for second helpings; it's that good.  There is a Hereville website linked by Deutsch's name above.  This link will take you to the first sixteen pages of this book to preview.  Just after the release of this title Barry Deutsch was interviewed at The Enchanted Inkpot.