It is Zeesie's seventh birthday, and not only does she have an elegant new dress and her own dollar bill, but Papa has decided she is old enough to attend that evening's package party. The party is grand, with great towers of wrapped surprise packages to be auctioned to raise money for other new immigrants to the community. But, as Zeesie soon discovers, not everything and everyplace at the party is meant to be explored. And what she does see that night on Delancy Street leaves her with a new knowledge of what giving is all about.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The author's memories of childhood in a tenement on Manhattan's Lower East Side inspired this atmospheric picture book, of which PW said, "Both art and text celebrate the secure feelings of a close-knit community." Ages 5-8.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Ages 5^-9. Many picture books about early immigrant communities don't get beyond ethnic celebration, but here there's a real story, and it grows right out of the culture. The setting is a Jewish American community on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the early 1900s. On her seventh birthday, Zeesie is excited to attend her first "package party" with her parents; it's a fund-raising party where families and friends who emigrated from the same village abroad get together and organize to bring new immigrants to America. Priceman's gouache illustrations in folk art^-style are packed with movement, character, and color, expressing Zeesie's delight in the foods and people and exuberant partying. But then there's a quiet moment, a secret. There's a room at the party where the adults go in, always one at a time. Zeesie's not supposed to enter the room, but when she does, she discovers sorrow and also community. It's the combination of the exuberant fellowship with the secret of individual need that makes a great story. Yiddish words, explained in the glossary, add warmth and joyful detail, and the endpapers include two delicious recipes. Hazel Rochman
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely outstanding,
By A Customer
This review is from: What Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street (Hardcover)
This would be a fine book even if it were only a well-executed example of those "learn about a culture" books. But it is much more. The book teaches -- without the heavy-handed EXPLANATIONS that so often destroy the flow and writing and make the whole thing seem so artificial -- about Jewish values and the complexities of social responsibility, justice and dignity, without ever TELLING them to the reader. The author lets the story speak for itself, and the message comes through all the more clearly, not less, for her forbearance. Just terrific. Worth the price for the kids on your list (and I don't think it's only appropriate for under-eights).
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!,
By A Customer
This review is from: What Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street (Hardcover)
This is an oustanding book for children. My daughter received it as a gift, and it is one of those rare books that adults feel delivers a powerful message, but children love anyway! The book gives an interesting look at an immigrant Jewish community without ever being pedagogical, and, even better, teaches a wonderful philosophy of social justice and "charity" without being in the least preachy and (even rarer) without stating in words the point the story has just made. You will love this one
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Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
Each family at the package party would bring a wrapped surprise package of homemade food to be sold at an auction. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Uncle Yussie, Max Mendelson, Tante Trina, Cousin Sheldon New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Each family at the package party would bring a wrapped surprise package of homemade food to be sold at an auction. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Uncle Yussie, Max Mendelson, Tante Trina, Cousin Sheldon New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
6
books
cite this book:
See all 6 books citing this book
- Using Picture Storybooks to Teach Character Education: (Using Picture Books to Teach) by Susan Hall on 5 pages
- The Organized Teacher: A Hands-On Guide to Setting Up and Running a Terrific Classroom by Steve Springer on page 159
- Storied City: A Children's Book Walking-Tour Guide to New York City by Leonard M. Marcus on page 17
- Lower East Side Memories: A Jewish Place in America by Hasia R. Diner in Back Matter
- Jewish Family and Life: Traditions, Holidays, and Values for Today's Parents and Children by Yosef I. Abramowitz in Back Matter
See all 6 books citing this book
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