You Never Know: A Legend of the Lamed-vavniks - Hardcover

Prose, Francine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688158064 ISBN 13: 9780688158064

Publisher: Greenwillow, 1998

Synopsis

The town of Plotchnik hasn't had a drop of rain in forty days. But the town's humble shoemaker, Poor Schmuel, has the power to command rain and much more. What makes him so extraordinary? Nobody, including the town elders, can explain it until one nightthe Rabbi has a very strange dream.... Francine Prose and Mark Podwal bring to life with wit and flavor another Jewish legend in this tale of Schmuel and the holy Lamed-vavniks.

About this title

About the Author:

Francine Prose is the author of ten highly acclaimed works of fiction, including Bigfoot Dreams, Household Saints, Hunters and Gatherers, Primitive People, and Guided Tours of Hell. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, GQ, and The Paris Review; she is a contributing editor at Harper's, and she writes regularly on art for the Wall Street Journal. The recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, Francine Prose is a Director's Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She has taught at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and Johns Hopkins University. She lives in New York City.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 4?While this legend is of Jewish origin, the ideals of righteousness and equality among human beings (wealthy and poor, learned and simple) are inherent in many religious and cultural teachings throughout the world. Poor Schmuel, the town cobbler of Plotchnik, has a reputation for doing stupid things, which are actually acts of kindness. When a drought threatens the town, he alone is able to communicate with God, first bringing rain and then making the rain cease. The Rabbi eventually realizes that Schmuel is a Lamed-vavnik, one of the 36 righteous individuals living in the world who do good deeds. As the legend goes, once their existence is discovered, they disappear. And so it is with Schmuel. Prose, who cites several sources, uses the simple style of the storyteller to tell this tale, which makes it an excellent read-aloud. By successfully avoiding a heavy-handed lesson, she allows children to discover the meaning for themselves. Podwal uses gouache and colored pencils to create both the smeary look of oils and the flatness of tempera. His abstract paintings are done primarily in earthy tones of brown and sky blue, and the pictures are filled with representations of Jewish symbols. Despite these images, however, this accessible tale has universal appeal and will provide enjoyment as well as food for discussion.?Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0688158064
• ISBN 13: 9780688158064
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 24
• Illustrator: Podwal Mark