The City of Light
Indie Awards Silver Medal Winner (Children's Nonfiction)
The Skipping Stone Magazine Honor Award (one of the best multicultural books for children in 2019)

When legendary and beloved actor, singer and activist Theo Bikel wrote a short story, shortly before his passing in 2015, about his happy childhood as a Jewish boy in Vienna—confused by rising anti-Semitism, and ultimately forced to flee after the Nazi takeover—he never could have imagined that Jewish children in the US, at the start of 2020, would have to ask their parents the same questions he had asked his own parents: Why are we hated? Why must I be afraid to be who I am?

In The City of Light , Theodore poignantly recounts moments from his childhood in Vienna— at first the happy memories of family, sweet cakes, and holidays; and then darker times, when he experienced and witnessed brutal and violent anti-Semitism as Nazi influence grew. Set in Vienna in 1937-38 during Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria, a young Jewish boy witnesses Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass,” and elderly Jews being spat upon and forced to clean the sidewalks with their coats. Once at home in the city, he is ostracized and beaten.

One night, the boy dreams that his favorite Jewish superhero, Judah Maccabee, has arrived to save Vienna’s Jews. But when he awakens, there has been no Maccabean rescue. Years pass and the boy, now an old man, returns to Vienna and finds its Jewish community and Temple have been restored. He looks for the eternal light in the Temple and can’t find it. Then suddenly it becomes clear to him: “The light was there all the time; it was in my own heart.”

This special book, gentle and bittersweet in its tone, also includes a three-page Yiddish glossary, a recipe for Honey Cake from Bikel's grandmother, and sheet music of a little-known Hanukkah song "Little Candle Fires" with a link to a website where you can hear Theo singing it.

Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light is receiving critical acclaim, loved by adults who have followed Bikel for decades, as well as young people struggling to make sense of the acts of hatred and bigotry they are now exposed to daily. Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, Theo’s widow and veteran journalist, has added a backstory, several glossaries, and an afterword about an event in Bikel’s life with stunning historic significance. Noah Phillips’ moving illustrations bring the story to life.

1130806669
The City of Light
Indie Awards Silver Medal Winner (Children's Nonfiction)
The Skipping Stone Magazine Honor Award (one of the best multicultural books for children in 2019)

When legendary and beloved actor, singer and activist Theo Bikel wrote a short story, shortly before his passing in 2015, about his happy childhood as a Jewish boy in Vienna—confused by rising anti-Semitism, and ultimately forced to flee after the Nazi takeover—he never could have imagined that Jewish children in the US, at the start of 2020, would have to ask their parents the same questions he had asked his own parents: Why are we hated? Why must I be afraid to be who I am?

In The City of Light , Theodore poignantly recounts moments from his childhood in Vienna— at first the happy memories of family, sweet cakes, and holidays; and then darker times, when he experienced and witnessed brutal and violent anti-Semitism as Nazi influence grew. Set in Vienna in 1937-38 during Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria, a young Jewish boy witnesses Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass,” and elderly Jews being spat upon and forced to clean the sidewalks with their coats. Once at home in the city, he is ostracized and beaten.

One night, the boy dreams that his favorite Jewish superhero, Judah Maccabee, has arrived to save Vienna’s Jews. But when he awakens, there has been no Maccabean rescue. Years pass and the boy, now an old man, returns to Vienna and finds its Jewish community and Temple have been restored. He looks for the eternal light in the Temple and can’t find it. Then suddenly it becomes clear to him: “The light was there all the time; it was in my own heart.”

This special book, gentle and bittersweet in its tone, also includes a three-page Yiddish glossary, a recipe for Honey Cake from Bikel's grandmother, and sheet music of a little-known Hanukkah song "Little Candle Fires" with a link to a website where you can hear Theo singing it.

Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light is receiving critical acclaim, loved by adults who have followed Bikel for decades, as well as young people struggling to make sense of the acts of hatred and bigotry they are now exposed to daily. Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, Theo’s widow and veteran journalist, has added a backstory, several glossaries, and an afterword about an event in Bikel’s life with stunning historic significance. Noah Phillips’ moving illustrations bring the story to life.

16.95 In Stock
The City of Light

The City of Light

Overview

Indie Awards Silver Medal Winner (Children's Nonfiction)
The Skipping Stone Magazine Honor Award (one of the best multicultural books for children in 2019)

When legendary and beloved actor, singer and activist Theo Bikel wrote a short story, shortly before his passing in 2015, about his happy childhood as a Jewish boy in Vienna—confused by rising anti-Semitism, and ultimately forced to flee after the Nazi takeover—he never could have imagined that Jewish children in the US, at the start of 2020, would have to ask their parents the same questions he had asked his own parents: Why are we hated? Why must I be afraid to be who I am?

In The City of Light , Theodore poignantly recounts moments from his childhood in Vienna— at first the happy memories of family, sweet cakes, and holidays; and then darker times, when he experienced and witnessed brutal and violent anti-Semitism as Nazi influence grew. Set in Vienna in 1937-38 during Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria, a young Jewish boy witnesses Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass,” and elderly Jews being spat upon and forced to clean the sidewalks with their coats. Once at home in the city, he is ostracized and beaten.

One night, the boy dreams that his favorite Jewish superhero, Judah Maccabee, has arrived to save Vienna’s Jews. But when he awakens, there has been no Maccabean rescue. Years pass and the boy, now an old man, returns to Vienna and finds its Jewish community and Temple have been restored. He looks for the eternal light in the Temple and can’t find it. Then suddenly it becomes clear to him: “The light was there all the time; it was in my own heart.”

This special book, gentle and bittersweet in its tone, also includes a three-page Yiddish glossary, a recipe for Honey Cake from Bikel's grandmother, and sheet music of a little-known Hanukkah song "Little Candle Fires" with a link to a website where you can hear Theo singing it.

Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light is receiving critical acclaim, loved by adults who have followed Bikel for decades, as well as young people struggling to make sense of the acts of hatred and bigotry they are now exposed to daily. Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, Theo’s widow and veteran journalist, has added a backstory, several glossaries, and an afterword about an event in Bikel’s life with stunning historic significance. Noah Phillips’ moving illustrations bring the story to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781942134619
Publisher: Mandel Vilar Press
Publication date: 12/10/2019
Series: MomentBooks
Pages: 64
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range: 10 - 18 Years

About the Author

Theodore Bikel was an admired actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in numerous Hollywood films and in 1959 co-founded the Newport Folk Festival. A seasoned Broadway actor and singer, Bikel originated the role of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music and starred as Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, a role he performed more often than any other actor to date. He was also known for his roles in My Fair Lady, The Defiant Ones, and was a frequent guest star on many popular television series. Bikel received many awards in his life, including an Academy Award Nomination and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Aimee Ginsburg Bikel is a writer, journalist, public speaker, and community organizer. She served as the senior foreign correspondent in India for Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's leading daily, for seventeen years. As the director of the Theodore Bikel Legacy Project, she is active in causes that were close to her and Theo's heart: social justice, peace, and Jewish Folk culture.

Noah Phillips is a Brooklyn-based writer, illustrator, and social worker. His artwork appeared in magazines, newspapers, and a book of children's stories called The Three Chickens and Five Other Stories.

What People are Saying About This

Peter Yarrow

Aimee Ginsberg Bikel’s shaping and sharing of her beloved late husband’s, Theo Bikel’s tale of what he experienced as a little boy during the rise, and then explosion, of hatred that preceded the Holocaust, is a beautiful, painfully powerful and great gift, particularly meaningful in this time of mushrooming anti-Semitism, hatred and bigotry of every sort, worldwide. Told in the sweet poetic language of a child, and a one-day-to-become iconic actor, poet, folk singer and international activist for social justice, it is an a riveting and undeniable tale, made all the more meaningful by the mounting denial of this history that we must tell and retell, lest it be repeated.

Peter Yarrow, Folk Singer, Peter Paul and Mary

Preface

After a long and satisfying lifetime of unforgettable experiences, in the end, there was one memory Theo went back to most often: in his imagination, he was a boy again, aged 11 or 12, wandering the Vienna woods with his Mama and Papa. Even though the woods were only an hour away, going there was a special occasion that he looked forward to for days. Mama Miriam, with her bag of delicious sandwiches, cherries, marzipan and tea in a thermos would settle down on the striped blanket, preparing the picnic as young Te'o and Papa Yosef walked up and down the paths, singing, on the top of their lungs, in German, Yiddish and Hebrew, songs of love for their Jewish people, socialist and Zionist songs. After their picnic, chilled to their bones, they would stop in an inn at the edge of the wood for a bowl of chicken soup with liver dumplings. The inn keepers always gave Te'o a few extra dumplings in return for a pinch of his chubby cheek. At home, his Bube' (grandmother) was always waiting to hear his stories of what he had seen and what he had found, He could not imagine the horrors only several years away. He could not imagine he would have to leave his Bube' when he and his parents escaped to Palestine, only three precious exit/entry permits in their hands. Luckily, with hard work and a miracle, Bube' joined them in Palestine right in the nick of time. Te'o, then Meir, then Theo, then the marvelous Theodore Bikel, became a star with adoring fans all over the world and a life full of happiness. But in his heart, he felt like a refugee for the rest of his years of never forgot the sorrow and the fright of having to escape his happy childhood, escape the people who had been his friendly neighbors, leave behind his books and his toys and his beloved Bube'. He could never forget that even though his own story had a happy end, the story did not end happily for countless others. But beauty and the light in his heart caused him to try and make other people's lives better; he did not become angry or bitter but instead let his own sorrow lead him to a life in service of goodness and justice. In 2013, when he was almost 90 years old, The Austrian government invited Theo back to Vienna to sing in the Parliament, to the top elected officials, ministers, ambassadors, and army chiefs. The occasion was the 75 year anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of destruction described in this story. Theo sang to them in German, Yiddish and Hebrew, songs of his childhood and songs he sang over the next 75 years. He stood the proudly, his hair as white as snow and his talit draped over the podium, and told them: "I thank you for inviting me here to honor the memory of my people. There is a deep and momentous significance to this occasion: and that is that the mass murderers are gone; and I'm still here, we are still here, singing our songs of peace and freedom". —Aimee Ginsburg Bikel
From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Related Subjects

Kids
Fiction & Literature - Kids
Historical Fiction - Kids
Kids
Fiction & Literature - Kids
Historical Fiction - Kids

Customer Reviews