Review: Violin of Hope
Violin of Hope
by Ella Schwartz, illustrated by Juliana Oakley
Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024
Category: Picture Books
Reviewer: Doreen Robinson
Buy at Bookshop.org
Violin of Hope tells the story of a Jewish family - Mama, Papa, and young children Itzik and Feiga. At night, Papa takes the violin, which hangs on a special hook, and plays beautiful music. Sometimes the music makes the children laugh and dance, sometimes the music makes them melancholy. When Itzik tries to play it, the sound is shrill, but Papa encourages him to practice. One night, before Shabbos, Papa plays and Mama sings along in Yiddish, but a pounding on the door interrupts the family’s joy. As the children hide behind Papa and Mama, a Nazi soldier snatches the violin. It’s tossed into a truck filled with pillaged items from Jewish homes. The violin is dumped into a damp cellar where it waits, in silence. Years pass, until one day, light pours into the cellar and a luthier retrieves the instrument, repairs and restores it to its former glory. The violin is hung in a place of honor in his shop until a father and son, named Isaac, come in looking to buy a violin. In time, Isaac grows up and plays this violin concert halls around the world – filling them with the music of hope.
This beautifully told story is inspired by real luthiers (a craftsperson who builds and repairs stringed instruments) and a project called Violins of Hope. Author Ella Schwartz does an incredible job of showing the reader what Jewish life looked like in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The violin is just one part of the story that weaves together the past and the future by showing the connection that this stringed instrument had on its different owners.
The spread with the soldiers adds drama and tension to the story, without making it too scary for young readers. Illustrations by Juliana Oakley capture this time period accurately and include Jewish objects in the art (kippot, candlesticks). An Author’s Note at the end shares her inspiration for the story and gives details about father and son luthiers, Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein.
The Jewish representation is authentic in the text and in the illustrations. Both capture a distinct time period in Eastern Europe, with Yiddish terms and realistic drawings that reflect what Jewish life would have sounded and looked like. This is an important book for Jewish and non-Jewish readers and is most definitely a contender for The Sydney Taylor Book Award.
Reviewer Doreen Robinson is a journalist and editor for community newspapers. As a first-generation American, she's proud of her Israeli roots. She writes stories for children that spread Jewish joy. Am Yisrael Chai!
Violin of Hope tells the story of a Jewish family - Mama, Papa, and young children Itzik and Feiga. At night, Papa takes the violin, which hangs on a special hook, and plays beautiful music. Sometimes the music makes the children laugh and dance, sometimes the music makes them melancholy. When Itzik tries to play it, the sound is shrill, but Papa encourages him to practice. One night, before Shabbos, Papa plays and Mama sings along in Yiddish, but a pounding on the door interrupts the family’s joy. As the children hide behind Papa and Mama, a Nazi soldier snatches the violin. It’s tossed into a truck filled with pillaged items from Jewish homes. The violin is dumped into a damp cellar where it waits, in silence. Years pass, until one day, light pours into the cellar and a luthier retrieves the instrument, repairs and restores it to its former glory. The violin is hung in a place of honor in his shop until a father and son, named Isaac, come in looking to buy a violin. In time, Isaac grows up and plays this violin concert halls around the world – filling them with the music of hope.
This beautifully told story is inspired by real luthiers (a craftsperson who builds and repairs stringed instruments) and a project called Violins of Hope. Author Ella Schwartz does an incredible job of showing the reader what Jewish life looked like in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The violin is just one part of the story that weaves together the past and the future by showing the connection that this stringed instrument had on its different owners.
The spread with the soldiers adds drama and tension to the story, without making it too scary for young readers. Illustrations by Juliana Oakley capture this time period accurately and include Jewish objects in the art (kippot, candlesticks). An Author’s Note at the end shares her inspiration for the story and gives details about father and son luthiers, Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein.
The Jewish representation is authentic in the text and in the illustrations. Both capture a distinct time period in Eastern Europe, with Yiddish terms and realistic drawings that reflect what Jewish life would have sounded and looked like. This is an important book for Jewish and non-Jewish readers and is most definitely a contender for The Sydney Taylor Book Award.
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