Product Description

"Kimmel's crisp but lyrical retelling of this early Hasidic legend has a steady pace and mounting tension that makes this a text certain to receive heavy use as a read-aloud.... Muth's watercolors add a powerful emotional subtext to this already moving tale.... An author's note gives background on the story and the Jewish traditions from which it comes." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115956 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .35" h x 9.26" w x 11.57" l, .96 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Amazon.com
Rather than regret or atone for his everyday mistakes, baker Gershon simply sweeps them into his basement. Once a year on Rosh Hashanah, he stuffs these demon-shaped transgressions in a giant bag and dumps them into the Black Sea. Of course, Gershon must discover sooner or later that his selfish acts cannot be disposed of so easily. In spite of a pointed warning from a rabbi, Gershon refuses to realize that his behavior will come back to haunt him someday. It's only when he is faced with the monstrous bulk of his misdeeds that Gershon finally, truly repents.

Eric A. Kimmel's beautiful retelling of the traditional Hasidic legend for the Jewish New Year captures all the weighty value of responsibility and forgiveness. In his author's note, Kimmel describes the Rosh Hashanah ceremony called tashlikh, in which people gather at the seashore or by a river to recite biblical verses and turn their pockets inside out, allowing bread crumbs to fall into the water--a symbolic casting-off of sins.

Award-winning illustrator Jon J Muth's expressive and luminous watercolors, suffused with the pale golden light of day or oppressed under a lowering coastal sky, are unforgettable, as is the remarkably frightening yet stunning "immense black monster covered with scales like iron plates," on each of which is written one of Gershon's misdeeds. Muth's extraordinary work can also be seen in author Karen Hesse's lovely picture book Come On, Rain! (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
This presentation of a Hasidic legend has everything a reader could want: a suspenseful story, an insightful lesson and brilliant pictures that accelerate the delivery of both. Central to the plot is the custom of tashlikh, the ritual casting of sins into the water on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Gershon the baker, "not always the best person he could be," begins to rely on this practice as a way of dealing with his mistakes: instead of apologizing and making amends, he sweeps his thoughtless deeds into the cellar every Friday and, on Rosh Hashanah, he stuffs them into a sack, drags it to the sea and tosses it in. Of course, he will learn true repentance - but not before he receives a cryptic prophecy from a sage and, much later, faces down the sea monster his sins have created. Relegating words like tashlikh to a meaty author's note (which also describes Jewish principles of t'shuvah, or repentance), Kimmel (Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins) uses everyday language, letting the moral shine through his astute storytelling. The airy watercolor illustrations, loaded with period detail, transcend the particularities of the setting by virtue of Muth's (Come On, Rain!) expansive imaginative vision. He enhances the comedy in the premise by painting the sins as tiny horned imps who jeer as they face Gershon's broom (they grow a bit nastier as the story advances), yet he leaves room for a humane depiction of Gershon, more self-absorbed than wicked, and for a psychologically canny and dramatic portrayal of the monster. A memorable work, welcome at any time of year. Ages 5-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-In this retelling of a Hasidic legend, the baker Gershon never repents for any of his wrongdoings. Instead, on Rosh Hashanah, he gathers them together and throws them into the sea. When he and his wife seek help for their childlessness, Gershon visits a tzaddik, or "wonder rabbi." The rabbi writes a charm and tells the man it will bring him and his wife twins but due to his careless acts they will die on their fifth birthday. When the day arrives, Gershon is able to save his children from the monster created by his sins by truly repenting. Despite its obvious moral, the story flows well, and Kimmel's language glows, while retaining the flavor of a traditional tale. The watercolor illustrations work well, with the baker's sins represented as small, black, ghoulish monsters and the beast created from the sum of his misdeeds as a looming, serpentine sea monster. Muth brings Gershon to life with a truly human expressiveness. The characters are depicted with the traditional Hasidic side curls and tallith hanging out of their shirts, rooting them firmly in the Jewish tradition. Kimmel's light hand makes the lessons easy to take, and despite repetitions of the message, the telling remains an enjoyable read.
Amy Lilien-Harper, Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.