Com mu n i ty
Writ
o ur
re
Three schools cooperate to
bring an award-winning
children's author to town.
teacher at Yeshivat Akiva and the local
library association's vice president of pro-
gramming, and Linda Grekin, media spe-
cialist at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit, to invite Rosen to their schools.
DIANA LIEBERMAN
The author was in town April 23-24.
Staff Writer
"The big thing about this, in addition to
the great opportunity for our students, is
ibyl Rosen, award-winning play-
that all three movements came together to
wright, screenwriter and filmmaker,
bring her here," Rochen said.
had never written a children's book
Temple Israel is a Reform congregation with
before.
a large religious school in West Bloomfield;
Until 1993, when she began to feel as
Akiva is a modern Orthodox day school in
though her true vocation was writing for chil-
Southfield; and Hillel is a Conservative day
dren. And she knew just what her subject
should be.
school in Farmington Hills and associated with
the Solomon Schechter movement.
"I grew up in Lynchburg, Va. — home of
The author's appearance at Hillel was fund-
Jerry Falwell — in the 1960s. I had memories
ed through the school's Sylvia and Sam Isaacs
and impressions I had never put down on
Children's Author Fund. At Akiva, the PTA
paper," she told members of Temple Israel's
underwrote the expense, while Rosen's talk at
book clubs April 24. 'Also around that time, I
Temple Israel was sponsored by the Temple
began hearing about Holocaust deniers, people
libraries.
who said the Holocaust had never happened."
The Speed of Light takes place in a small
Combining the two themes resulted in the
novel The Speed of Light, published by Simon
Virginia town in 1956. Audrey, an 11-year-
old Jewish girl, is forced to face racial hatred
and Schuster in 1999, and now available in an
when her- father stands up for the rights of a
Aladdin paperback edition.
black man to serve on the town's police force.
"As soon as I
At
the same time, Tante Pesel, a cousin who
Hillel eighth- began working
survived
Auschwitz, moves in with the fami-
graders Carly on this book, I
ly,
and
Audrey
learns about the Holocaust
felt
I
had
come
Kaufman of
from
Tante's
bitter
memories.
home,"
Rosen
West
The two story lines weave together to con-
said.
Bloomfield,
vey, both to Audrey and to the reader, the
With The
Natasha
connection between the events in her small
Aronson of
Speed of Light,
town and those in Hitler's Europe.
Franklin and Rosen hit a
Rosen said her book is not strictly autobi-
Yael Smiley of home run in
ographical.
Farmington
her first time at
Hills at the
'Almost every event in the book is invent-
bat. The novel,
author's pre-
ed. I either made it up or found it by
recommended
sentation.
research," she said. "But I like to think every-
for ages 10-14,
thing in The Speed of Light reflects my life
won the 1999
when I was growing up."
Association of
At Rosen's Temple Israel appearance, Julie
Jewish Libraries
Ritter of Farmington Hills said she and her
Sydney Taylor Book Award.
9-year-old son, Peter Nagle, had enjoyed
Rachel Erlich, Temple Israel's libraries
reading The Speed of Light together.
and media center director, chose the book
"It brought up a lot of questions we had
for all three of her book clubs. Clubs are
never discussed seriously before," she said.
divided by age, and each includes parents
The book inspired 12-year-old Lauren
and children in the reading experience.
Fink
of West Bloomfield to write a poem
Because of the enthusiasm of the book
about the things that unite all human beings.
club members, Erlich, also president of the
At all three schools, Rosen encouraged her
Michigan Chapter of the Association of
audience to write their own dreams.
Jewish Libraries, decided
Sibyl Rosen speaks
"You have to listen to yourself," she said.
to take the experience a
to Yeshivat Aliva
"Trust that what is inside you is something
step further. She joined
students.
other people want to know." ❑
with Phyllis Rochen, a
S
Rachel Erlitb,
Isntel
tnedia and
libnny
introduces _young
poet and book
club member
Lauren
•
IN
5/4
2001
39