Nathan's Song

December 1, 2020
Love of opera brings a Jewish boy from czarist Russia to New York. When he hears an opera singer perform in the neighboring shtetl, Nathan wants to sing also. His impoverished family saves for years and finally can afford to send him to Italy to study. Nathan sets out for a Black Sea port but is so overwhelmed by the many languages that he ends up on the wrong ship--one that is sailing to New York City. Fortunately, he can literally sing for his supper, and all the passengers dine and dance to his music-making. When he sets foot in New York, he continues to sing, this time on street corners to pay for food and lodging. A job in a hat store, marriage, and earning enough money to bring over his family follow. Nathan continues his studies and even sings on Broadway. The author recounts what is loosely her grandfather's journey to America with great affection. In her author's note, she provides some background information on Jewish life in Russia's "Pale of Settlement" with its often violent anti-Semitism. The graphically striking artwork is brightly colored in blues, yellows, and oranges and fills the pages with dancing figures and city buildings. Families may follow this story with tales of their own American journeys. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 33.9% of actual size.) A warm and nostalgic family remembrance. (Picture book. 4-7)

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January 1, 2021

Gr 1-3-The tale of Nathan, who has always loved to sing. His neighbors in his Russian shtet all taught him their songs: "He can lift your heart with his voice." From the time he hears an Italian opera singer visiting in a neighboring village, his dream is to study and sing opera; he works to raise the money until his parents judge him old enough to follow that dream. Digital illustrations in bold colors reimagine folk art, with scenes of forest, houses, and city streets. Ish-Shalom's illustrations lead readers' eyes through the portholes of a large ship, or across docks and city streets, in colorful art that finds contrasts and details of sharply defined and solid characters. Nathan's journey takes him across the ocean, but not to the country and city of his dreams. Within minutes of the ship's launch, he realizes he is on his way to New York, not Italy. From that moment, life is an adventure, and Nathan is always singing-from his earned passage in steerage to fancy dinners across the Atlantic, on street corners in New York, at weddings or onstage, and in meeting the love of his life. Inspired by the life of her grandfather who actually traveled first to another country while immigrating, Schubert recalls in an author's note the love of her family and the joy of their reuniting, reflected in the final page of illustrations that feature a joyous swirl of musical notes on a background of bold yellow that highlights families of different races and ethnicities in happy embrace. VERDICT This title pays tribute to courageous individuals, with an underlying message of the unbroken connection of family love.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 11, 2021
Everyone in the Russian shetl loves young Nathan’s singing. “That Nathan!” say the neighbors. “He can lift your heart with his voice.” The family scrimps and saves to send him to Italy for singing lessons, and what follows is a string of incredible events—the afterword notes that they’re loosely based on Schubert’s (Trailblazer) grandfather’s life. Nathan mistakenly boards a boat bound for New York, earns his passage singing in the ship’s dining room, gets scouted by a voice teacher while busking, makes an appearance on “a big Broadway stage,” and meets his true love while working in a hat shop. He’s finally reunited with his dearly missed family on Ellis Island, finding them amid the tumult by singing out so they recognize and follow his voice. The calm, reportorial narration sometimes dampens the dramatic tale filled with twists of fate, but artist Ish-Shalom’s illustrations lend energy to the telling: the crisp, bright colors; simple but evocative detailing; and indomitable doll-like figures have the verve of modern folk art. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Steven Chudney, the Chudney Agency.