The Open Book

Vera Wang

esnig s Trunk Show

Be the first to see the
New colors and styles
Thursday, June 21st
9:00
6:00
Friday, June 2 rid
10:00 - 6:00
Saturday, June 23rd
10:00 - 5:30

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Clothing • Accessories • Ideas

Inside Orchard Mall

851'41260

David Klein Gallery

presents

Charles Pompilius

Recent Paintings

June 9 — July 14, 2001

Opening Reception to meet the artist
Saturday, June 9 from 1 :00 — 4 : 0 0 pm

catalogue available

Preview the exhibition at dkgallery.com

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6(15

2001

94

163 TOWNSEND BIRMINGHAM MI 48009
TELEPHONE 248.433.3700 FAX 248.433.3702
HOURS: MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 11 - 5:30

— were completely aware of what Hitler
was doing. Death camps were near
towns; Jewish ghettos were in cities; and
Hitler himself made clear in his diary
that he planned to annihilate as many
Jews as possible.
Perhaps the most stirring part of
Ambrose's book is his use of quotes from
the men who served in World War II.
Here, Pvt. Robert Healey recalls see-
ing the body of a young soldier on
Omaha Beach:
"Near one of his hands, as if he had
been reading it, was a pocketbook
(paperback). It was Our Hearts Were
Young and Gay by Cornelia
Otis Skinner. This expressed
the spirit of our ordeal. Our
hearts were young and gay
because we thought we were
immortal, we believed we
were doing a great thing,
and we really believed in the
crusade which we hoped
would liberate the world
from the heel of Nazism."
And in his chapter on
the Holocaust, Ambrose
includes these words
which, once read, will
never be forgotten:
"Major Richard
Winters voiced the emo-
tions of so many of his
fellow soldiers when he
said of the sight at
Dachau, 'Now I know
why I am here."'

Rivka's Way by Teri
Kanefield. Copyright
2001, published by
Front Street/Cricket
Books. Hardback.
$15.95. 139 pages.

Perhaps you remember the Amazing
Kreskin, who claimed he could read
your mind. Perhaps you don't believe
that it's possible to read another's mind.
I'm going to show you, here and
now, that you can read my mind as I
telepathically transmit the plot of this
book to you.
There is a girl named Rivka who lives
in Prague's Jewish quarter in the 18th
century. Her parents want her to stay
right where she is, but Rivka has never
seen the world outside this area so she ...
Yes, that's right! She decides to go out-
side on her own. You're doing great.
Now, Rivka has learned from her
friends and parents that gentiles are
cruel to Jews, yet when she goes outside
the quarter ...
Yes! Good! A gentile boy helps her
and now Rivka knows that there are

good Christians, too!
Rivka comes back to her family and
they were terribly worried, of course.
But Rivka tells her father that she met a
kind gentile boy. Her father is ...
Right! Her father is indeed furious
and chides her, "Do not think any more
about this Christian boy. Do not even
mention him."
In the end, Rivka has the chance to
help her new gentile friend. Her father
objects but ...
Did you guess that Rivka helps him
anyway, and she knows "it's the right
thing to do"?
Of course you did
because this book is a
cliche from page one.
' You don't need to read
my mind for this bit of
advice because, no
doubt, you've already fig-
ured out that if you're
looking for a book for
your 10- to 14-year-old
[for whom this text was
written], you shouldn't
travel Rivka's Way.

On Shabbat by Cathy
Goldberg Fishman, with
illustrations by Melanie
W Hall. Copyright
2001, published by
Atheneum Press.
Hardback. 30 pages.

On Shabbat is the fifth
in a series of holiday
books by Ms. Fishman
and Ms. Hall. It was
preceded by On Passover,
On Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur, On
Hanukkah and On
Purim.
In this case, more is good. Ms.
Fishman has a pleasant, gentle manner
of writing, and Ms. Hall's illustrations
are spectacular.
The text simply describes what one
child and her family do on Shabbat.
They light candles Friday night and then
have a big meal. In the morning, they go
to their synagogue, play games and take
a nap. What's nice about the writing is
that there are no silly superlatives
("Wow! Shabbat is great! We have fun!
It's the best!"), and that the day is specif-
ically shown as a family time, with plen-
ty of rituals that children love.
The illustrations are what really make
On Shabbat. Just open the book and
you'll see a stunning picture of the
Shabbat Queen, stars spilling out of her
hands as she reigns above a little village
colored in lilac and sea-blue. It's warm,
enveloping, magical — and fun.

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