Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas
by Michael J. Rosen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael J. RosenIllustrator: Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1992-10-15
ISBN: 0152253947
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Book Reviews of Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas
Book Review: A story for ALL holidays, all readers
Summary: 5 Stars
I have taught this book for more than ten years. My students are always moved and inspired by it. This book won the "Living the Dream Award," for the book that embodies the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King. It was a starred Horn Book Magazine and an American Booksellers "Pick of the Lists." It was one of Essence Magazine's favorite books that celebrate African-American life, a CBC-NCSS "Notable 1992 Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies," a Hungry Mind Review Children's Book of Distinction: "...this book creates a line of footprints between the two holidays as it does between two households." It's a Parents Magazine Best Books of 1992 and the winner of the National Jewish Book Award. All those awards mean one thing, but the story is approachable, tender, full of feeling, and broadly appealing to readers of all ages.
Summary of Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas
Michael and Elijah are friends, but when Elijah gives Michael one of his special carved angels, Michael doesn?t know what to do. How can he possibly take home a Christmas angel, a forbidden graven image--especially on Chanukah? ?A strikingly illustrated story that tenderly bridges the boundaries of age, race, and religion.?--American Bookseller
A child's vision of religious tolerance is exquisitely played out in this story about an elderly Christian barber and a Jewish child who befriends him. As a hobby, the African American barber makes elaborate woodcarvings--many of which refer to events or characters in the Bible. Michael, a 9-year-old Jewish boy, often visits the barbershop just to admire old Elijah's carvings, especially that of Noah's Ark--a story that belongs to Jewish as well as Christian teachings. One day when Hanukkah and Christmas coincidentally overlap, Elijah gives Michael a special gift, a carved guardian angel. Immediately Michael is filled with a jumble of feelings--gratitude for such a beautiful gift, concern that his parents might disapprove, and an even greater fear that God may frown upon a Christmas angel, "a graven image," in Michael's home. The thick sweeps of paint, the heavy uses of wood-tones, and primitive images make the settings and characters look as though Elijah carved them himself. When Michael finally reveals the carved angel to his parents, they help the young boy understand how expressions of friendship, love, and protection can be carried into any home, regardless of the household's religion. Michael J. Rosen based this story on the real-life Elijah Pierce (1892-1984), a lay minister, barber, and woodcarver from Columbus, Ohio, whose award-winning woodcarvings are now owned by the Columbus Museum of Art. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustration from Elijah's Angel by Michael J. Rosen. Illustrations (c)1992 by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company.) (Ages 5 and older) --Gail Hudson
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