Snow in Jerusalem

by Deborah Da Costa, Ying-Hwa Hu (Illustrator), Cornelius Van Wright (Illustrator)

Overview

Avi and Hamudi are two boys who live in Jerusalem's Old City—Avi in the Jewish Quarter and Hamudi in the Muslim Quarter. To each boy, the other's neighborhood is an alien land. And although neither boy knows it, both are caring for the same beautiful white stray cat. One day the boys follow the cat as she travels the winding streets and crosses the boundaries between the city’s quarters. And on this journey something wonderful happens, as unexpected as a snowfall in Jerusalem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807575253
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	03/01/2008
Series:	Albert Whitman Prairie Paperback Ser.
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

Children's Literature Choice List 2002
Notable Children's Books of Content: The Best of the Bunch from 2001 (Association of Jewish Libraries)

"The narrative flows smoothly, and da Costa's language makes the story seem more a legend or folktale than a modern tale…The endpapers, which depict the old city with the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock practically touching, are quite effective."—School Library Journal

"Older children with some knowledge of Middle East politics, either from listening to the news or talking about the discord in secular or religious schools, will catch the deeper meaning…The realistically executed watercolor art catches the strong emotional content of the argument and conveys enough detail in dress and setting to establish the boys' cultural background while still making them part of the modern world."—Booklist

"Full-bleed watercolor illustrations really convey the mood and places of the ancient city, as well as the human beings—and cats…Development, human and feline, is nicely characterized."—Kirkus Reviews

"The watercolor art by this husband-and-wife team balances precise, close-up portraits of the boys with softly focused backgrounds that depict the various cultural nuances of the setting."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

In an innocuous, basically uninteresting story, two boys who are citizens of Jerusalem, an Israeli-Arab and an Israeli-Jew, discover that they've been caring for the same cat in their respective neighborhoods. As they quarrel over ownership, suddenly snow begins to fall. Realizing that they must both take care of the cat, they follow her through the streets until they discover that she has delivered four kittens, a miracle like the snow, they decide. Once again they begin to fight over who will take them home until the cat demonstrates that she loves them both. So, they divide the kittens and let the mother continue to travel between them. A map of the city on the title page will help readers understand the sections of the Old City and show what boundaries the boys crossed in the cat chase. Full-bleed watercolor illustrations really convey the mood and places of the ancient city, as well as the human beings-and cats. Jerusalem in not as clean as shown in the art, nor is the over-abundance of felines shown. But in a high-minded and good-hearted story, even these literal facts may be overlooked. Development, human and feline, is nicely characterized. (author's note, glossary) (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews