Anna & Solomon

February 24, 2014
Snyder is Bliss’s mother-in-law, and together they’ve created a wonderful retelling of a family legend. “Once—and not once upon a time, because this is a true story,” writes Snyder, a young Jewish couple (Snyder’s grandparents) were married in turn-of-the-century Vitebsk, Russia. The future looks bright: he’s handsome and a sought-after house painter; she’s a beauty with a head for numbers. But when a pogrom devastates Vitebsk’s Jewish quarter, the couple knows they must leave for America. With only enough money for one passage, it’s decided that Solomon will go first, work hard, and then send for Anna. How the couple’s reunion is postponed again and again, then finally realized, is a story of selflessness, almost superhuman patience, and love conquering all. Bliss (Bailey at the Museum) is in wonderful form; instead of sentimental sepia scenes, he gives readers a sense of emotional immediacy and a much bigger picture. Anna and Solomon are the stars of this story, but they also embody millions of others, who yearned, strived, and gambled everything on the promise of a better life. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

April 1, 2014
A young man immigrates to America at the turn of the 20th century and works and saves so his wife can join him. Russia was not a good place for a young Jewish couple to thrive, no matter how hard they worked. The czar's soldiers attacked their town, destroyed homes and religious books, and stole their possessions. Solomon and Anna decide that he should go to America and save up money to buy Anna a ticket. He arrives in New York and works as a housepainter, and months later, he is able to send the money. But when he meets the ship, Anna's brother is there instead. They work together to send money again, and this time another brother arrives. Next time, it is Anna's mother who gets off the ship. Finally Anna arrives, and they are reunited. The whole family continues to work and grow and prosper in their adopted land of freedom and opportunity. This tale of the author's grandparents was passed down through the generations of her family. Snyder relates the events with obvious pride and love, in a conversational tone filled with descriptive details that highlight her ancestors' determination, courage and compassion. Bliss' illustrations beautifully complement the text, capturing time, place and emotions. An American story that is at once personal, timeless and universal. Lovely and uplifting. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-10)

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April 1, 2014

Gr 2-4-Anna and Solomon's story begins with their 1897 wedding in the Russian town of Vitebsk, where they lived in the Jewish quarter. Both are talented in their work, he as a house painter and she as a bookkeeper. Their life together is soon interrupted by a cruel, house-wrecking invasion by the Czar's soldiers. Snyder's true-to-life tale recounts her grandparents' history as immigrants in New York City at the close of the 19th century. Their journey to a safer country took several years to achieve as they earned money to travel one at a time. The spare tale focuses on Anna's refusal to make the trip and join Solomon until she sent first her younger brother, then an older brother, and finally her mother before her own happy reunion with her long-waiting husband. Bliss creates congenial characters and busy scenes colored in earth tones on single-page, facing views. The energetic pastiche of family and city life is a bit cluttered but also conveys a nice realism. Though the picture-book telling suggests fiction, a concluding page of photographs of Anna and Solomon reminds readers that this all happened to real people. Featuring adult concerns, the book may not draw children as readers. Teachers and families, however, can make very nice use of this well-crafted account for sparking discussion and creative work focusing on family histories, the long history of immigration in this country, and the current worldwide flow of emigrating families.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Grades 1-3 Family stories don't always work for a larger audience, but this immigration tale, centered around Snyder's grandparents, will resonate for many. It's the turn of the last century, and after a pogrom, Solomon and his wife, Anna, decide they must move to the U.S. However, there is only enough money for one fare. Solomon goes first, works hard, and sends for Anna. But when he goes to the ship to meet her, her younger brother has arrived. He saves enough for another passage, and this time it's Anna's older brother he greetsand then her mother. Understanding though he is, Solomon is thrilled when Anna finally arrives and they can start their new life. There are no children in the story, and the settings probably won't resonate much with the audience. Kids do understand, though, what it is to want something and have to wait for it, and many will have their own family remembrances that mirror this one. Bliss, a New Yorker illustrator in addition to his children's book work, adds a light, bright feel to a story that tempers the disappointments that fortunatelyeventuallylead to a new life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)