Review: The Keeper of Stories

The Keeper of Stories

by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Selina Alko

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025

Category: Picture Books

Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz

 

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The Keeper of Stories recalls the 1966 fire at New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary library. After the fire was extinguished, the entire community, Jews and gentiles, came together in Operation Booklift to try to save the swollen, waterlogged books. After a number of failed attempts to dry the books, a volunteer proposed the method that worked: layering paper towels between the soaked pages. But this extraordinary book is about more than that incident. It’s about how libraries and people both function as guardians of our stories. Pritchard uses poetic language and lovely, metaphorical imagery to emphasize the idea that while the library and the community’s many hands saved the books, it is the Jewish people who keep our stories alive. Though many books were “consumed” by the fire, the stories themselves live on through the indomitable Jewish spirit. Selina Alko creates gorgeous, stylized illustrations through drawing and mixed media, making each page an absolute treat for the eyes. A detailed description and photographs of the fire and Operation Booklift are given in the book’s final pages. The Keeper of Stories is truly sublime.  Jewish values infuse every aspect of the book, including tikkun olam (repairing the world), kehila (commitment to community), and klal Yisrael (unity and survival of the Jewish people). The Keeper of Stories goes beyond telling the story of a fire at a Jewish institution to instilling in readers a sense of responsibility for the continuation of our culture.

 

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Reviewer Stacy Nockowitz is a children’s book author and retired middle school librarian. She holds Master's Degrees from Columbia University, Kent State University, and Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her debut middle grade novel, The Prince of Steel Pier, won a National Jewish Book Award and was named a Sydney Taylor Notable Book. Visit Stacy at www.stacynockowitz.com.