Write On, Irving Berlin!

April 15, 2018
A Jewish immigrant's passage from pogroms in Russia to "God Bless America"--written 100 years ago to celebrate his beloved adopted home.Irving Berlin, born in 1888, was just a child when his family and so many others fled terror directed at Jews in czarist Russia for New York City's Lower East Side. It was a crowded, dirty, and very poor neighborhood of immigrants, but it allowed a musical boy who had never studied music to grow up and write songs. Israel, his given name, was not a good student in school, but, a cantor's son, he had a head full of tunes. Early success led to music composed for fellow soldiers during World War I and then music written for Broadway and the movies. It was during World War II that he "took out and polished up a song he'd written long ago." That song was "God Bless America," which is still sung and loved--albeit over the initial protests of those who were not pleased that a Jewish immigrant was the composer and lyricist. "White Christmas," written during World War II, was also immediately taken to heart despite the same racist, nativist objections. More success and many more great and still popular songs followed. Gardner's illustrations are colorful and soft-textured, displaying many smiling faces of Berlin as he ages. Musical notes swirl through the pages. Heartwarming Americana. (author's note, selected songs, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)

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May 1, 2018

Gr 2-4-A feel-good biographical look at a great songwriter. Israel Baline arrived on Ellis Island as a small boy fleeing the violence of Russian pogroms. But in the freedom of New York's Lower East Side, he blossomed into Irving Berlin. From his first song (sold for 37 cents) to iconic hits like "God Bless America" and "White Christmas," the irrepressible Berlin used his music to express his love for his adopted homeland. Readers will enjoy following the tale of a young person who uses his talent to reinvent himself. Warm and evocative watercolor illustrations create an appropriate atmosphere for this friendly giant of music. Unless readers are familiar with Berlin's most famous song, the occasional declarations of "God Bless America!" throughout may seem unexpected and out of place, but ultimately they reinforce the musician's legacy. The author's note includes additional informational tidbits, but the list of further reading is somewhat dated; the most recent book is published in 2003. VERDICT A good addition to biography collections that are short on musicians.-Savannah Kitchens, Chilton-Clanton Public Library, AL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 7, 2018
Kimmelman portrays the life of Irving Berlin, born Israel Isidore Baline to a Jewish family in Russia in 1888—“a bad time and place to be Jewish,” the author writes. The story begins as the family arrives at New York’s Ellis Island. Gardner’s spreads alternate between bright and crisp scenes of Berlin writing and playing music and more expressive tableaus that show texture and emotion through blurred colors and residual pencil lines. Kimmelman emphasizes Berlin’s devotion to music through a leitmotif: “Nothing stopped Irving from writing songs. Not his new love, Ellin.... Nothing stopped Irving from writing. Not World War II.” Kimmelman focuses on Berlin’s love for his adopted country, as expressed through the song “God Bless America,” and notes his progressive leanings, including performing for integrated audiences of soldiers during the war. A quiet conclusion shows an elderly Berlin gazing at the Statue of Liberty (“He died when he was 101 years old, 96 years after he’d first stepped onto the shores of his beloved United States”). Ages 6–10.

May 15, 2018
Grades K-2 Irving Berlin gets the full picture-book treatment in this appealing introduction to the songwriter. Berlin's story begins as the five-year-old arrives in the U.S. in 1893 along with his family, fleeing the Russian pogroms. Left fatherless at 13, he makes money by singing and making up tunes, eventually writing the smash hit, Alexander's Ragtime Band. Kimmelman does a fine job of touching on both Berlin's professional and personal lives and doesn't shy away from mentioning that not everyone liked the fact that a Jewish immigrant was writing America's most beloved songs, like White Christmas. Her text is long in spots, but readers will come away with a sense of the man and what his music meant to America, especially in times of war. Gardner's artwork, which captures Berlin's exuberance, is displayed nicely on oversize pages. The mostly realistic style is softened on some spreads that are executed in chalks, giving the art the gauzy feel of memory. A fine mix of music and the immigrant experience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)