From Publishers Weekly
Stuchner (A Peanut Butter Waltz) spins a satisfying small-town story whose endearing, old-fashioned quality is captured equally effectively by Canadian artist Row's lifelike watercolor paintings. Even more than their renowned noodle pudding (or "kugel"), the residents of Canada's Kugel Valley take pride in their klezmer band, a traveling trio that plays at dances, weddings and bar mitzvahs around the countryside. Since Shira, the 10-year-old daughter of the group's clarinet player, longs to play the fiddle, her idol is Isaac, another member of the band and "the finest fiddle player this side of Nova Scotia." The kind man gives her a homemade toy fiddle, along with some time-honored advice: "Practice, practice, practice." And that she does, playing her fiddle faithfully in the privacy of the forest, imitating the music she has heard Isaac play for years. The denouement hardly comes as a surprise when Isaac comes down with a cold, Shira fills in for him at a Hanukkah party and wows the revelers. Mellifluous storytelling and nostalgic yet accessible, animated artwork bring just the right measure of warmth and sentiment to give this tale relevance for today's readers. Ages 3-9.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
reSchool-Grade 1-A fiddle player, Isaac, wants to retire and his clarinetist's daughter, Shira, wants to play the fiddle, but her father tells her that "no ten-year-old girl has ever played in a klezmer band." However, Isaac secretly makes her a toy fiddle, and after he falls sick, she fills in for him, proving her worth and prompting her father to give her the real thing for Hanukkah. In an attempt to introduce unfamiliar readers to the Jewish terms, Stuchner weighs down the beginning of the story with explanations. Unfortunately, the unique quality of the klezmer band never becomes clear. The Jewish flavor remains pleasantly in the background, enhancing the story without overwhelming it. Initially, the realistic, painterly, oil illustrations are rather static, but as the story picks up, so do the pictures, reflecting the movement of the musicians and their audiences' responses. The artwork has an Eastern European feel to it, which complements the story, and in later spreads Row does a lovely job of capturing movement and emotions, compensating for the unremarkable nature of the earlier illustrations. Although not a necessary purchase, this is a good addition for libraries looking for more books with Jewish characters.
Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CTCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
