Even Higher! A Rosh Hashanah Story [Hardcover]

Eric A. Kimmel (Adapter), I. L. Peretz (Author), Jill Weber (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Award-winning author Eric A. Kimmel's whimsical retelling of this Rosh Hashanah tale, paired with Jill Weber's charming illustrations, will take readers to a higher place.

Every year, just before Rosh Hashanah, the rabbi of Nemirov disappears. The villagers are certain their rabbi flies up to heaven to speak with God. Where else would such a great and holy man go just before the fate of every soul is decided for the coming year? But a skeptical Litvak scoffs at the villagers, claiming miracles cannot happen. He vows to discover the rabbi's secret, but what he witnesses--an enormous act of human compassion--will make any doubter believe.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–5—Each year, the revered rabbi of an Eastern European village disappears for a few days before the Jewish New Year. The townsfolk speculate that he spends the time in heaven, personally asking God to forgive the villagers' sins. When a skeptical stranger follows the rabbi, he finds him performing a deed whose worth is "even higher": the rabbi chops wood to provide for a poor, elderly, sickly woman. Kimmel's adaptation is fairly traditional, but he has added a few elements that seem a bit at odds with the story, including a Ukrainian drinking song and a miraculous cure. The story is rooted firmly in the shtetl setting and is best appreciated by readers with some prior knowledge of this culture. Despite the cheerful cartoon illustrations, this is not the most child-friendly retelling. For a version more appealing to children, try Richard Ungar's Even Higher (Tundra, 2007), which features a curious boy instead of a doubting adult.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL END

From Booklist

Like Richard Ungar’s 2007 picture book with the same title, this retelling of Peretz's beautiful Jewish folktale is about a rabbi whom the shtetl people believe performs a miracle every year before Rosh Hashanah. Kimmel tells it from the viewpoint of a skeptical Litvak stranger, who does not believe in miracles. He follows the rabbi, who disguises himself as a peasant, cuts wood, and brings his bundle to a poor old woman in a wretched shack, then sings and dances with her before the fire she builds. The bright mixed-media pictures in folk-art style show the rabbi’s hard work and joyful movements, a powerful, earthy contrast to the magic realism that the shtetl people imagine. Steeped in Yiddish idiom, the story sends an unforgettable message: the skeptic changes and sees that ordinary kindness is enough to save the world. In the end, when the local people proclaim that the holy man flew up to heaven, the Litvak stranger nods and adds in a quiet voice: “Who knows? / Maybe even higher!” Preschool-Grade 3. --Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (September 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823420205
• ISBN-13: 978-0823420209
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,057,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric A. Kimmel is well known for the tales he has retold from around the world. Some of his best-known titles are "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins" (a Caldecott Honor book), "Gershon's Monster", "Anansi and the Talking Melon", and "The Runaway Tortilla". A former professor of children's literature, he lives in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Higher, April 13, 2010

By 

Jewish Book World Magazine (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Even Higher! A Rosh Hashanah Story (Hardcover)

In the original Yiddish short story by I.L. Peretz, the rabbi of Nemirov disappears on the days preceding the holy days of Rosh Hashanah. The Ukrainian villagers believe he has gone to speak to God on their behalf. A doubting Litvak, sceptical as men from Lithuania have a reputation for being, questions the truth of their belief. Kimmel opens his picture book adaptation with the core question, "Where did the rabbi go?" The Litvak determines to find out. Playful, gouache illustrations, chock full of cats, chickens, mice, and a nibbling goat, follow the human rabbi and spying Litvak as the Litvak hides under the rabbi's bed and sneaks behind when the rabbi, disguised as a peasant, chops wood in the forest and then lights the fire for a sick woman in the poorest section of the village. An endnote tells that the next scene was inspired by Kimmel's own grandmother at age 95 - The rabbi sings a Ukrainian drinking song and pulls the old woman up to dance - before returning to the traditional tale. Afterwards, the Litvak, now a disciple, asserts that the rabbi of Nemirov has gone even higher than heaven. Aside from a curious three pages which slow the story down to over-explain how the Litvak is a doubter, this is the most child-friendly version of Peretz's classic story now in print. Light, upbeat art with figures like paper doll cut-outs and clear black font help connect this accessible tale of truly unselfish giving for readers ages 6-9. Sharon Elswit

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding the rabbi and finding the holiday meaning, September 15, 2009

By 

Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Even Higher! A Rosh Hashanah Story (Hardcover)

Prolific children's author, Kimmel, scores another winner with this story that is based on a story by I. L. Peretz (1852-1915), titled "Oyb Nit Nogh Hekher", or "If Not Higher." In the original story, the miracle is that there are no miracles. You can save the world simply by being kind to others. In Kimmel's retelling of the story, we find ourselves in the colorful, simple country village of Nemirov. No one could find the rabbi, not among the hens, the homes, the pushcarts, or the shul before Rosh Hashanah. The villagers are convinced that their rabbi goes to heaven. It is Rosh Hashanh when God open the Book of Life. Obviously, the rabbi goes to heaven to plead the case of forgiveness for the villagers before God. Well, it so happens that a Litvak came to town. A religious man, of course, but a skeptic, since he was a Litvak. (note: Litvaks are from Lithuania. Nemirov is in the Ukraine today, and was the birthplace of Reb Noson the disciple of Nahman and Bratslav, and at one time, part of the Austro Hungarian empire, but i digress) He will prove the villagers wrong. He will follow the rabbi in secret and see where he disappears to. He follows the rabbi. The rabbi dresses as a peasant and heads to the forest. He cuts a load of wood and heads to the village to give it to an old, sickly woman. He poses as Vasilly the wood cutter. He gets this sickly woman to live life. Ah ha... the Litvak realized, the rabbi did go to heaven,... or maybe even higher

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars forwordsbooks review, September 18, 2009

By 

Kathy B. "forwordsbooks" (Wellesley, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Even Higher! A Rosh Hashanah Story (Hardcover)

How wonderful to have this extraordinary story back in print and adapted by the master storyteller, Eric Kimmel. As always, we find ourselves in a shtetl full of loyal followers believing their rabbi visits heaven prior to the High Holidays, there is a skeptic who must follow the rabbi to prove them wrong and a righteous rabbi who is going somewhere "Even Higher." The twist? The old woman who the rabbi visits actually gets out of bed and dances with the rabbi in this clever retelling that adds a Ukrainian drinking song with the line, "Life is well worth living" to the story. Leave it to Mr. Kimmel to improve on I. L. Peretz.

The illustrations are a bit ordinary for my taste, but how far can you stretch the look of shtetl life? This is a great story for reading aloud at the High Holidays.