Review: Mr. Katz and Me
Mr. Katz and Me
by Marc Kornblatt, illustrated by Nanette Regan
Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House Publishers), 2024
Category: Picture Books
Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus
Buy at Bookshop.org
Mr. Katz and Me is wonderful story about friendship. Sarah is the daughter of a b’nai mitzvah tutor. Her father lets her listen in as he tutors the many students who come through their home preparing for their special day. When a new student comes for his first lesson, Sarah is surprised to see he is an older man. At first Sarah is not very understanding or friendly to Mr. Katz. As the lessons continue Sarah joins Mr. Katz and learns how special he is. Growing up in Russia, he had to hide his religious affiliation, but now at the age of eighty one he is excited to become a bar mitzvah.
Sarah and Mr. Katz become friends as he continues coming to the house for tutoring. She learns that patience and understanding about other people can lead to true friendship. The age difference makes the relationship stronger as they learn from each other. Having friends with different experiences and backgrounds can be very enlightening.
Birds decorate the pages of this story, building on the message of going from being caged to being free. The students are described as either singing like canaries or crows. Sarah describes Mr. Katz as singing like a canary and she feels like she sings like a duck. As we watch Mr. Katz and Sarah develop a friendship, we see birds flying across the pages. The birds fly in and out of cages as Mr. Katz gets closer to his bar mitzvah.
The drawings add to the warm, endearing quality of this story. With the soft edges of various mediums and the washed look of watercolors, this is a colorfully illustrated book, beautiful to look at as you read the story. The young people who come to learn their b’nai mitzvah portions have a diversity of abilities and a variety of skin tones.
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Reviewer Merle Eisman Carrus resides in New Hampshire. She received her Masters of Jewish Studies from Hebrew College and is a graduate of Emerson College. Merle is the National President of the Brandeis National Committee. She leads books discussion groups and author interviews. She writes book reviews for various publications. She blogs her book reviews at biteofthebookworm.blogspot.com.
Mr. Katz and Me is wonderful story about friendship. Sarah is the daughter of a b’nai mitzvah tutor. Her father lets her listen in as he tutors the many students who come through their home preparing for their special day. When a new student comes for his first lesson, Sarah is surprised to see he is an older man. At first Sarah is not very understanding or friendly to Mr. Katz. As the lessons continue Sarah joins Mr. Katz and learns how special he is. Growing up in Russia, he had to hide his religious affiliation, but now at the age of eighty one he is excited to become a bar mitzvah.
Sarah and Mr. Katz become friends as he continues coming to the house for tutoring. She learns that patience and understanding about other people can lead to true friendship. The age difference makes the relationship stronger as they learn from each other. Having friends with different experiences and backgrounds can be very enlightening.
Birds decorate the pages of this story, building on the message of going from being caged to being free. The students are described as either singing like canaries or crows. Sarah describes Mr. Katz as singing like a canary and she feels like she sings like a duck. As we watch Mr. Katz and Sarah develop a friendship, we see birds flying across the pages. The birds fly in and out of cages as Mr. Katz gets closer to his bar mitzvah.
The drawings add to the warm, endearing quality of this story. With the soft edges of various mediums and the washed look of watercolors, this is a colorfully illustrated book, beautiful to look at as you read the story. The young people who come to learn their b’nai mitzvah portions have a diversity of abilities and a variety of skin tones.
Are you interested in reviewing books for The Sydney Taylor Shmooze? Click here!
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