Awards

• Joint winner of Honor Award, Best Children's Book 2020 (United States)
• Winner of Silver Medal, Foreword Reviews Indie Book Award for Juvenile Nonfiction 2019 (United States)

Overview

"In 2014, at the age of 90, at the request of Nadine Epstein, Moment Magazine editor-in-chief, Theodore Bikel reexamined his own roots pinpointing the crucial events of his early life that shaped him as the man he would later become. He always believed that: ""You must explore your roots in the past in order to pinpoint your place in the present or to be entitled to a future. It doesn't work any other way."" The events that remained locked in his memory were the growing acts of Anti-Semitism culminating with Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) in Austria in November 1938. Born in in Vienna in 1924, Bikel was about thirteen when the pogroms broke out in Austria. Shocked and fearing for their lives, like the 117,000 other Austrian Jews who left their homeland between 1938 and 1940, Theo and his parents left their beloved city of Vienna and emigrated to Palestine. Bikel captures these memories in a poignant story, The City of Light about growing up in Vienna and more specifically the events of 1937-1938. In this story, young Jewish boy strolls through Vienna, the city of his youth, witnessing various acts of Anti-Semitism during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. He sees elderly Jews being spat upon and beaten and aged Jewish women being forced to clean the sidewalks with their coats. These scenes and other brutal and violent acts were seared into his memory and remained so all his life. In December 2014, Bikel's story, The City of Light, appeared in Moment Magazine and was read aloud by hosts Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz on NPR's Hanukkah Lights Program.This story now appears for the first time as an illustrated book publication in time for Hanukkah 2019. The City of Light can now be read and appreciated by all readers, ages 9 and up in a new and expanded version. Includes a Foreword, a Postscript, an appendix with a three-page Yiddish word glossary, a Recipe for Honey Cake from Bikel's Grandmother, and sheet music of one of Theo's favorite Hanukkah songs, ""Little Candle Fires"" with a e-link to websites where you can hear Theodore Bikel singing this song."

Full Product Details

9781942134619

Table of Contents

Reviews

"“Ginsburg Bikel and Phillips have risen to an extraordinarily difficult task by foreshadowing the events of the Holocaust without confronting her young readers with its atrocities. . . . Over his long and remarkable career, Theodore Bikel achieved the status of living treasure. Thanks to Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, Theo is still here.” —Jonathan Kirsch, The Jewish Journal “An unusu¬al com¬bi¬na¬tion of mem¬o¬ry, his¬to¬ry, and psy¬cho¬log¬i¬cal query which tran¬scends the divide between books for young read¬ers and those for adults.” —Emily Schneider, The Jewish Book Council “Aimee Ginsburg Bikel’s shaping and sharing of her beloved late husband Theo Bikel’s tale of what he experienced as a little boy during the rise, and then explosion, of hatred that preceded the Holocaust, is beautiful, painfully powerful, and a great gift. It is particularly meaningful in this time of mushrooming anti-Semitism, hatred and bigotry of every sort, worldwide. It is a riveting tale, made all the more meaningful by the shocking rise of anti-Semitism, and all form of bigotry, right here and right now."" —Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary “If in the past I have ever called a book beautiful, I realize after reading City of Light that I may have been too profligate with my praise. This work for children may be the realization of that often-overused word; it is a very moving story, an excellent way to introduce youngsters to the Holocaust.” —The Jerusalem Post -- Peter Yarrow"

Ginsburg Bikel and Phillips have risen to an extraordinarily difficult task by foreshadowing the events of the Holocaust without confronting her young readers with its atrocities. . . . Over his long and remarkable career, Theodore Bikel achieved the status of living treasure. Thanks to Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, Theo is still here. -Jonathan Kirsch, The Jewish Journal An unusual combination of memory, history, and psychological query which transcends the divide between books for young readers and those for adults. -Emily Schneider, The Jewish Book Council Aimee Ginsburg Bikel's shaping and sharing of her beloved late husband Theo Bikel's tale of what he experienced as a little boy during the rise, and then explosion, of hatred that preceded the Holocaust, is beautiful, painfully powerful, and a great gift. It is particularly meaningful in this time of mushrooming anti-Semitism, hatred and bigotry of every sort, worldwide. It is a riveting tale, made all the more meaningful by the shocking rise of anti-Semitism, and all form of bigotry, right here and right now. -Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary If in the past I have ever called a book beautiful, I realize after reading City of Light that I may have been too profligate with my praise. This work for children may be the realization of that often-overused word; it is a very moving story, an excellent way to introduce youngsters to the Holocaust. -The Jerusalem Post -- Peter Yarrow

Author Information

Theodore Bikel was an admired actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in numerous Hollywood films and in 1959 co-founded the Newport Folk Festival. A seasoned Broadway actor and singer, Bikel originated the role of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music and starred as Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, a role he performed more often than any other actor to date. He was also known for his roles in My Fair Lady, The Defiant Ones, and was a frequent guest star on many popular television series. Bikel received many awards in his life, including an Academy Award Nomination and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Aimee Ginsburg Bikel is a writer, journalist, public speaker, and community organizer. She served as the senior foreign correspondent in India for Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's leading daily, for seventeen years. As the director of the Theodore Bikel Legacy Project, she is active in causes that were close to her and Theo's heart: social justice, peace, and Jewish Folk culture. Noah Phillips is a Brooklyn-based writer, illustrator, and social worker. His artwork appeared in magazines, newspapers, and a book of children's stories called The Three Chickens and Five Other Stories.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available