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ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: The Greatest
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.vesperillustration.com/
CITY:
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 395
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Nuremberg, Germany; married Ben Stamper (a filmmaker); children: two.
EDUCATION:LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, New York, NY; Parsons School of Design, B.F.A. (illustration); School of Visual Arts, M.F.A. (illustration).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and illustrator. Has also shown art in gallery exhibitions. Host of the podcast, Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself.
AWARDS:Golden Kite Honor Book, Sydney Taylor Book Award, and National Book Award (nomination), Kirkus Reviews and Wall Street Journal, Best YA Book, all 2018, for What the Night Sings.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Vesper Stamper is a writer and illustrator of children’s books. Born in Nuremberg, Germany, she grew up in New York, NY. Stamper holds a bachelor’s degree from Parsons School of Design and a master’s degree from the School of Visual Arts. In an interview with Karen Romagna, which was posted on the Society of Children’s Book Writer and Illustrators website, Stamper explained why she chose to become an illustrator. She stated: “I’ve always wanted to be a children’s illustrator because of the place that amazing picture books had in my own life. They were a respite from a hectic life. I had three or four books that were, and continue to be, incredibly meaningful to me, and I want to make books that are that powerful for other children. Books can literally change the course of a child’s life. The combination of intelligent, rich artwork and compelling story is both anchoring and transformative for kids that are navigating their place in the world.” In an interview with Darlene Beck-Jacobson on Beck-Jacobson’s website, Stamper remarked that she wanted to write for children “because I think kids are really smart, really deep, really complex, and deserve books (and toys for that matter) that treat them with dignity and respect, not like little money-machines.”
Stamper’s family members were supportive of her decision to become an artist. As she told Beck-Jacobson: “I come from a family of ‘makers,’ going back to the linen embroidery industry in Belfast, Northern Ireland. My grandfather was an engineer and was always, always tinkering. One of my aunts is an artist, my mom is a classical pianist, another aunt is a music teacher, another a painter and musician in Ireland. I grew up with all of them in my grandparents’ house. The arts were embraced and normal and not treated as a big deal.” Stamper was involved in a car accident in which her drawing arm was injured. However, she continued to pursue her art and learned to draw again.
What the Night Sings: A Novel is Stamper’s first book, which contains her illustrations. Released in 2018, it was a nominee for the National Book Award. In it Stamper tells the story of a German teen named Gerta Rausch, who discovers she is Jewish when the Nazis load her and her family into a boxcar and send them to a concentration camp. Her musician father had encouraged her training in opera and with the violin, so Gerta was able to perform in orchestras in the concentration camps. After the British liberate her camp, she grapples with her experience and what it has done to her artistically. Meanwhile, she falls for Lev, a very conservative Orthodox Jew. Stamper told a contributor to the Underlined website: “Gerta’s story is based on those of several survivors, some of whom I was fortunate to speak to personally and some whose testimonies I read or watched. I tried to honor their stories by sharing some of the lesser-known specifics of what Jews suffered in the Holocaust.”
Stamper explained how she came to write the book in an interview with a contributor to the Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast website. She stated: “I initially became interested in the subject after my hundredth re-watching of Fiddler on the Roof, which brought up some questions about my own experience growing up in a Jewish household. We had just been assigned a massive book project, and I thought I’d write a short story about what I was learning—just to supplement a body of illustrations. But the story quickly grew out of control, and I knew it was asking to be a novel.” Regarding her intentions for the novel, Stamper told Jill Ratzan, writer on the BookPage website: “I really hope that readers connect deeply to the characters. I hope they see Gerta and Lev as peers, and as examples of two approaches to the question: Who, not just what, am I? This is a lifelong question that you don’t figure out by the time you’re twenty-one—or eighty-one. And I hope readers will connect to how much a person’s character really matters, above all other considerations, when choosing their circle of friends and partners.”
In an interview with a contributor to the Young Adult Library Services Association website, Stamper explained how the themes in the work connect with her own experience. She remarked: “We don’t need to look for adversity—it will find us, no doubt. In my own life, there was so much brokenness early on, and difficulty at later points in my life, but certain things not only brought me through those times, but deepened what I cared about.” Stamper continued: “For instance, the car accident which damaged my working arm forced me to face how important art was to me, and how hard I was willing to fight to get it back. The result is that I’m much more connected to my art, not just my career. Because I’m pushing through a disability to make art, it’s richer and more alive to me.”
Critics offered favorable reviews of What the Night Sings. Carla Riemer, contributor to School Library Journal, commented: “The illustration style and muted color palette work beautifully with the text.” Riemer added: “The narrative is spare but powerful.” Writing in Voice of Youth Advocates, Matthew Weaver suggested: “This is a story of survival, about creating respite in the middle of the unbearable.”
In 2020, Stamper released her next illustrated novel, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue. This volume tells the story of a teenage artist named Edyth, who has synesthesia. Set in England in 1348, the book finds Edyth held against her will at Saint Christopher’s Priory. The nuns at the priory are unsure what to make of her unusual talents. A magical discovery allows Edyth to help her community when the plague threatens to decimate it. A Kirkus Reviews critic suggested: “The story starts out strong but falters.” The same critic stated that the book featured “lovely writing but [was] a bit of a missed opportunity.” In a more favorable assessment in School Library Journal, Rachel Forbes called the volume “a timely, historically inspired work about women’s roles and surviving the Great Plague that teens can use as a comparison to their own predicaments.”
The picture-book biography A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, written by Jasmine A. Stirling and illustrated by Stamper, shows how Jane Austen grew as a literary voice in nineteenth-century England and was inspired by her loving family and the people around her. Jane grows up around words and education, and writes her own funny stories about life in her town. Although faced with personal and financial tragedy, she manages to grow as an artist through her writing, creating authentic characters that have lasted for generations.
In an interview with Deborah Kalb online at Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, A Most Clever Girl ‘s writer Stirling praised Stamper’s illustrations for the book: “Her work emphasizes the three-dimensional portrait of Austen I worked hard to evoke in my writing. Vesper’s Austen sparkles with mischief and wit. At the same time, her illustrations are gorgeous and lush and tap into that escapism that I think make Austen such a delight for grownups to read.” A Kirkus Reviews writer liked the book for its depiction of an exceptional literary talent and the “detailed and engaging illustrations that entwine with the story and give a strong sense of the era.” In Booklist, Kathleen McBroom declared: “The hand-drawn pictures and amusing narrative make this a fitting tribute to Austen.”
Stamper illustrated Sisterhood of Sleuths, written by Jennifer Chambliss, about aspiring filmmaker Maizy who has just broken up with her best friend and movie-making partner, Izzy. Maizy decides to form a new group of friends with Cam and Nell with whom she investigates the contents of a mysterious box of books left at her mother’s thrift store. The box has some vintage Nancy Drew mystery novels and, strangely, a photograph of Maizy’s grandmother, Jacuzzi, with two other women. But Jacuzzi has no memory of the photo. Maizy, Cam, and Nell decide to make a movie about their investigation into what, if anything, connects the books, the photograph, and her grandmother. With the Nancy Drew motif and thoroughly researched historical details, “A strong theme of evolving friendships pervades this fun and funny mystery narrated in Maizy’s lively voice,” said a writer in Kirkus Reviews. “Initially slow pacing evolves into a pleasantly cozy mystery,” declared a Publishers Weekly contributor.
Stamper wrote and illustrated the coming-of-age book, Berliners, in which the lives of twin brothers reflect the political tension of cold war Berlin, Germany, in the 1960s. The relationship between 15-year-old fraternal twins Peter and Rudi is struggling. Tall and blond, Peter, a leader of the youth Communist party, disapproves of the party’s lies, but short and dark-haired photographer Rudi is a loyal Communist. The brothers also deal with their parents’ crumbling marriage, mother’s mental health issues, the need to choose a practical career versus a pursuit of art amid the turbulent political crisis, and the physical distance caused by the erection of the Berlin Wall.
Writing in School Library Journal, Alicia Abdul commented on the dual points of view and rich layers of Stamper’s illustrations, adding: “Made stronger by the noir mood immersing readers, the palpable build-up in story comes from Stamper’s research.” A Publishers Weekly critic remarked: “Occasional spreads of somber-toned artwork enhance the gloomy ambience of life in a divided Germany.”
(open new)In Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants, written by Norman H. Finkelstein, Stamper illustrates the story of Cahan, who was born in Lithuania but immigrated to New York City during the Russian czarist incursion into his home country. In New York, Cahan works in factories during the day and studies English at night, eventually becoming a teacher himself. Cahan later founds Forverts (later known as the Forward), a newspaper written entirely in Yiddish. The book explains how Cahan’s newspaper and his work as a teacher improved the lives of his fellow Jewish immigrants. Writing in WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, Lynne Stover praised Stamper’s work in the book, asserting: “The illustrations, painted in gouache, meticulously capture the characters and historic time period, adding authenticity to the storytelling.” Similarly, a Kirkus Reviews critic remarked: “The colorful, attractive gouache illustrations capture period settings very capably.”
Stamper is also the illustrator of The Greatest, a children’s book by Veera Hiranandani. It finds a group of grandchildren fawning over their humble Grandpa during their visits to his house on Sundays. Grandpa considers telling his grandchildren that he really isn’t all that special, but he decides instead to allow their love for him and each other to brighten all of their lives. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews described the book as “a joyous, sweet, and tender tale of intergenerational love.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer highlighted Stamper’s contribution to the work, stating: “Velvety watercolor and gouache illustrations by Stamper … capture the pale-skinned Jewish family’s warmth in this demonstrative work.”(close new)
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 1, 2021, Kathleen McBroom, review of A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, p. 61.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2020, review of A Cloud of Outrageous Blue; January 1, 2021, review of A Most Clever Girl; July 1, 2022, review of Sisterhood of Sleuths; August 15, 2022, review of Berliners; December 1, 2023, review of Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants; July 1, 2024, review of The Greatest.
Publishers Weekly, August 29, 2022, review of Sisterhood of Sleuths, p. 106; September 12, 2022, review of Berliners, p. 77; June 10, 2024, review of The Greatest, p. 85.
School Library Journal, February, 2018, Carla Riemer, review of What the Night Sings: A Novel, p. 96; September, 2020, Rachel Forbes, review of A Cloud of Outrageous Blue, p. 89; October 2022, Alicia Abdul, review of Berliners, p. 90.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2017, Matthew Weaver, review of What the Night Sings, p. 63.
WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, January 12, 2024, Lynne Stover, review of Amazing Abe, p. 1.
ONLINE
Authors Guild website, https://authorsguild.org/ (March 5, 2024), author interview.
Authors Unbound, https://authorsunbound.com/ (November 30, 2020), author profile.
BookPage, https://bookpage.com/ (February 20, 2018), Jill Ratzan, author interview.
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, http://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/ (April 9, 2021), Deborah Kalb, “Q&A with Jasmine A. Stirling,”
Darlene Beck-Jacobson website, https://darlenebeckjacobson.wordpress.com/ (October 7, 2013), Darlene Beck-Jacobson, author interview.
LK Literary Agency website, https://www.lkliterary.com/ (November 30, 2020), author profile.
Random House Teachers and Librarians, https://www.rhteacherslibrarians.com/ (January 29, 2025), author interview.
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, http://blaine.org/ (February 13, 2019), author interview.
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators website, https://newjersey.scbwi.org/ (November, 2013), Karen Romagna, author interview.
Underlined, https://www.getunderlined.com/ (November 30, 2020), author interview.
Vesper Stamper website, http://www.versperillustration.com (January 29, 2025).
Young Adult Library Services Association website, http://www.yalsa.ala.org/ (February 11, 2019), author interview.*
Born in Germany and raised in New York City, Vesper Stamper writes and illustrates novels which tell, through both words and pictures, stories of history’s rhymes. Her debut illustrated YA novel, What the Night Sings, about the aftermath of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young musician, was a National Book Award Nominee, a National Jewish Book Award Finalist, a Morris Award Finalist, Golden Kite Honor Book and Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner, and was named one of the Best YA Books of 2018/9 by YALSA, the Wall Street Journal and Kirkus. She also illustrates picture books for the younger set.
Vesper has a BFA in Illustration from Parsons and an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from School of Visual Arts and is the host of the podcast Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself, which aims to cultivate a rehumanized worldview through artistic thinking, and speaks at conferences and institutions at home and abroad. She lives with her husband, filmmaker Ben Stamper, in the Northeast, and teaches illustration at School of Visual Arts.
Education
BFA Illustration, Parsons School of Design, NYC
MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay, School of Visual Arts, NYC
LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, NYC (Visual Art)
Awards/Grants
FAIR in the Arts Fellow
Golden Kite Award Finalist
National Jewish Book Award Finalist in Young Adult Literature
National Book Award Nominee in Young People’s Literature
Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner
William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist
Golden Kite Honor Book
TENT Children’s Book Residency, Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA
People’s Choice Finalist, Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search
Lincoln City Fellowship, Speranza Foundation (2x)
Center for Faith and Work Artist-in-Residence, NYC
SCBWI New Jersey Juried Show Grand Prize (2x)
SCBWI New Jersey People’s Choice
School of Visual Arts MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department Scholarship
American Illustration 39, 41, 42
Jury Member, Illustrators 65
Creative Quarterly 45-46
St. Andrew's Society of Washington, DC Scholar
Starred Reviews/Lists
Kirkus
Publisher's Weekly
School Library Journal
Booklist
Horn Book
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Book
White Raven Book (Internationale Jugendbibliothek)
TAYSHAS Selection (Texas Library Association)
Oklahoma Sequoyah Award Selection
Exhibitions
Proverbs, Poems, Promises, Messiah University (group)
Agora @ 150 W83: The Art of What the Night Sings (solo)
14th Street Y: The Art of What the Night Sings (solo)
Hadas Gallery & Synagogue: The Art of What the Night Sings (solo)
Walnut Hill Community Church: The Art of What the Night Sings (solo)
Parsons School of Design Alumni Show
School of Visual Arts MFA Thesis Show
School of Visual Arts MFA Book Show
The Breath & The Clay Creative Conference
All Angels Church Gallery
Mikhail Zakin Gallery
Photograph by Ben Stamper
Photograph by Ben Stamper
Select Clients
Alfred A. Knopf (Penguin Random House)
Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins)
Christy Ottaviano Books (Little, Brown/Hachette)
Holiday House Books
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Random House Studio Books (Penguin Random House)
ModCloth
Society of Visual Storytelling
Memberships
Society of Illustrators
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
Author’s Guild
Heterodox Academy
FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)
FAIR (Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism); FAIR in the Arts
Speaking
Morgan Library, NYC
School of Visual Arts, NYC
Pratt College, NYC
Vassar College, NY
American Library Association
Yiddish Book Center
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
Miami Book Fair
92nd Street Y, NYC
14th Street Y, NYC
Association of Jewish Libraries
Hutchmoot Arts Conference, TN
Harbor Springs Festival of the Book
Sam Fox School, Washington University, St. Louis
Gordon College
Books by the Banks Festival, Cincinnati
Touchstone Conference, Chicago, IL
BASE Hillel, NYC
…And many more high schools, colleges, bookstores, conferences and community organizations!
Member Spotlight: Vesper Stamper
March 5, 2024
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illustrator Vesper Stamper and her book Amazing Abe
Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I take very seriously that not only am I writing for adults (both those who read my historical fiction, and those who read the picture books I illustrate to their young ones), but that I am creating worlds for other people’s children whose lives are not in my hands. I want to help people, old and young, to navigate this unpredictable world, and stories can do that. Good stories aren’t morality tales. Those are just boring, no matter who’s writing them. It’s much more important to let things play out with characters that are responding as real humans to how the world actually works. This can be positive or negative, related both to the things we have agency over and the things that are out of our control. This kind of navigation is what books offered me in the midst of an out-of-whack childhood, and what I hope my stories will do for my readers—again, both young and older.
What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? There is no substitute for just picking up the pen and writing. If you’re truly stuck, start with describing your surroundings, even if you just begin with your cup of coffee! Taking walks, breathing deeply of fresh air, ditching devices, and stream-of-consciousness journaling early in the morning are other surefire ways to get unstuck. Most of the time, it’s not a block we’re fighting against—it’s distraction. And we have that in spades these days.
What is your favorite time to write? I’m freshest first thing in the morning, but sometimes that’s not a practical time for me to write. The more realistic scenario is writing in response to my research, and that can happen in the middle of reading some ancient speech or watching a documentary—something sparks a visual image related to my story, and I have to write it down, whether it’s a fragment or a whole scene. Other times, I have to draw it—I’m an illustrator first, so often the picture comes before anything verbal.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? A stage director friend of mine said that when you’re trying to get inside the mind of a character, you should never go “all the way”, because that can lead artists down a dangerous mental path, and we’ve all seen the outcomes of artists who go too far. It’s very tempting, because artists are open and empathic (notice I didn’t say “empathetic”, because that’s not always true!), but this friend said to limit myself to 85% when trying to embody a character or a scenario. That has truly served me well and saved me from that emotionally obsessive danger zone.
What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I think we’re at an inflection point where more and more artists are leaning away from using their work to prove political points, and back into the Story being enough—back into a movement of re-enchantment. I find political and activism-driven art intensely boring and transparent, and I know that readers do, too; no one wants to be scolded or cajoled. Of course we write about what’s important to us, but there’s a way to do it that doesn’t break the fourth wall and instead trusts the reader. I’m excited to be surrounded by other artists in my life who are just going for it. There are writers whose work literally makes me feel high—I get that rush of transcendence from people like Salman Rushdie or Paul Kingsnorth—and I know I’m swimming in the right inspirational waters when that happens. Those are the intuitions that artists need to follow, and I think the pendulum is swinging back in that direction. Oh, that I could capture a moment of that in my own work!
Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants illustrated by Vesper Stamper and written by Norman H. Finkelstein is out now with Holiday House.
Q&A with Vesper Stamper
A Cloud of Outrageous Blue
A Cloud of Outrageous Blue By Vesper Stamper
Vesper Stamper is the author of What the Night Sings, a Morris Award finalist, longlisted for the National Book Award, and winner of the Sydney Taylor Award. In her sophomore novel, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue, a young woman paves her own path and falls in love during the Great Plague of 1348. We talked with Vesper about writing historical fiction, how her book connects to our current times, and the joy she finds in connecting with young readers.
Meet Vesper!
In your last book, you explored the topic of the Holocaust and surviving Nazi Germany and its aftermath as a Jewish person. This book is about a medieval plague. Why do you gravitate toward historical fiction?
History is just the story of human choices, and how those choices intersect. We often learn in school that it’s all about the power plays of those at the top, but the fact is that we are living in a story right now that will one day be part of “history.” That’s just as true of a hidden life like Edyth Le Sherman’s in A Cloud of Outrageous Blue as it is of yours or mine. The little choices we make can have extraordinary effects. That’s what interests me: how one unknown person—like you or me—takes ownership over our own life and choices in times of extraordinary pressure.
Can you talk about your research process and how it differs between books?
When I wrote What the Night Sings, I had the honor of interviewing living witnesses to the Holocaust—people who had been in the camps and experienced these events, which I incorporated into Gerta’s story. This time around, because there aren’t—as far as I’m aware!—any 700-year-old people to interview, I had to do a lot more reading about tiny, mundane things, like whether groups of people traveled by cart in the time I was writing about. Human nature doesn’t change, but since Edyth lived in the fourteenth century and the peasantry of that time didn’t have much in the way of written records, I had to research everything from food to holidays to Latin prayers. But researching A Cloud of Outrageous Blue definitely lit up all the nerdy little areas of my brain.
There is an obvious connection between the story in A Cloud of Outrageous Blue and our current plague, COVID-19. Talk a little bit about how it feels to publish a novel on this topic and the connections your book has to our modern crisis.
Honestly, I felt a little more mentally prepared for this pandemic than I think I would have had I not learned about the plague, and I think A Cloud of Outrageous Blue can help readers to put this pandemic in historic perspective. In 1349, between one-third and one-half of the population of Europe died, and the time from the onset of symptoms to death was about three days. That isn’t to minimize what we’re going through at all, but it does highlight how blessed we are to have modern medicine and infrastructure. I believe that medical advances will come from this crisis, just as they did back then. One advantage medieval people had was their understanding of the inevitability of death. I think modern folks tend to lean so heavily on our ability to fix things that it can leave us unprepared to grapple with the big questions of life, death, and meaning.
What has troubled me most, however—though not surprised me at all—is the social upheaval that has resulted from the pandemic. Fear tends to rule at times of uncertainty, and it can cause people to become incredibly suspicious of each other. As the Prioress says in Cloud, “Fear kills, Edyth, but it does not have to win.” The destructive nature of fear is, to me, something we all need to pay attention to. Because just as the Great Plague brought out terrible things in some people, it also ushered forth an explosion of self-sacrifice, love, creativity, individualism, and choice for people who previously had their lives more or less prescribed. It can happen for us, too, but we have to intentionally choose to love our neighbors instead of fearing them and making assumptions about them.
Like your debut, this novel is gorgeously illustrated (sample pieces shown throughout this page). Why do you choose to illustrate your novels?
Thank you! Frankly, I illustrate my novels because Knopf lets me! It’s always been my dream to help resurrect the illustrated novel, which was standard in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I think that we never outgrow our love and need for beautiful pictures to help deepen our connection to a story. All the beautiful artwork of the Middle Ages—which adorns everything from the smallest medieval parish church to the greatest cathedral—was meant to tell a story. I think I’m just continuing that tradition. The visual aspect of a work allows you to put yourself in the scene with—or as—the character you’re reading about. Each piece is meant to serve as a moment that the reader can use to pause, to imagine and embody the emotion and experience of the character.
Since authors are currently unable to have in-school visits, could you give an elevator pitch of what you would share with students if you were visiting their classroom?
I always love to help students understand that, just like any other historical or cultural figure, they matter, their choices matter, and loving their neighbors matters. More than any other time in life, our teen years set the stage for who we’ll be in the world, whether we realize it or not. It’s a powerful time. We are all historical figures, writing and living history together now.
One of the things I look forward to most when I do author visits is hearing from readers about how my stories intersect with theirs. It doesn’t mean every reader agrees with what I’ve put on the page, and actually, some of my favorite discussions are the ones where we can model healthy disagreement and still find common ground. I try to look each reader in the eye and communicate my respect and care for them. That might be more important than any words or images I create—that human-to-human moment of communicating “I see you, and you matter to me.”
We love to hear from authors about their inspirations and favorite things! What books, resources, and tips have been getting you through this time.
Because of the subject matter I deal with in my books, both historically and emotionally, I can get obsessed with my work and overcome by the passion to be an agent of change. It’s not good to live at 200 percent intensity all the time, though. I’m learning how important it is to take care of my own soul, and that that’s actually good for the work as well. So lately, I’ve been reading a lot about art and beauty, for their own sake. I believe that just as the Renaissance emerged from the devastation of the Great Plague, a burst of innovation and creativity can emerge from this time if we’re intentional about it. To that end—and this seems small, but it’s not—I’ve been very focused on nurturing my little flower garden. It’s the first year everything hasn’t either died or been eaten on my watch! I’m doing some landscape paintings, and I’m enjoying time with my family.
We may never have a chance like this again to really cultivate our own souls. It’s a time to get very real with ourselves, and to strengthen our friendships. I have a small group of very close friends who I talk to daily, who keep me grounded, centered in gratitude and love. And every morning, before I lift my head from the pillow, I read one chapter of the book of Psalms. Every human emotion is both represented and accepted in the Psalms, from rage to joy and everything in between. It reminds me that even in the times of greatest turmoil, we can still choose to steer ourselves away from vengeance, anxiety, and fear and toward love.
Could you tell us what’s next for you?
Well, now I get to introduce people to Edyth’s story! Whether it’s virtual or, hopefully, in person, I can’t wait to connect with readers again! I tried to create a book that felt like an illuminated manuscript for our times, and who knew it would be so close to our times.
I’ve also illustrated a picture-book biography of Jane Austen written by Jasmine A. Stirling that comes out in January. And I’ve been working on a new novel . . . but I can’t say anything about it just yet—only that it seems to be writing itself, which is a very good sign. Other than that, I’m doing the same as everyone else—watching and waiting to see what comes next in our story.
QUOTED: "The illustrations, painted in gouache, meticulously capture the characters and historic time period, adding authenticity to the storytelling."
FINKELSTEIN, Norman H. Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan's Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants. illus. by Vesper Stamper. 40p. Holiday House. Feb. 2024. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780823451647.
K-Gr 4—This picture book biography is an engaging tribute to Abraham Cahan (1860–1951) whose commitment to language, justice, and education left an enduring impact on the lives of Jewish immigrants in America. The story chronicles Cahan's evolution from a natural linguist, with Yiddish as his favored language, to an advocate for newcomers trying to assimilate into a very different culture. Fleeing Lithuania to escape from the oppression of czarist Russia, Cahan found refuge in New York City, where his days working in factories were complemented by nightly English studies. His transition into a teacher, educating fellow Jewish newcomers, sets the stage for his pivotal role as the co-founder and editor of the Yiddish language newspaper, Forverts, or the Forward, a Jewish daily. This newspaper was the preeminent foreign-language newspaper in America, connecting Jewish communities with local and global news. In his dual role as a teacher and newspaper editor, he focused on filling the cultural gaps for immigrants, fostering their understanding of America's customs, language, history, and the significance of voting. The narrative skillfully weaves in Cahan's commitment to workers' rights, portraying him as a champion of immigrants and an advocate for labor unions working in pursuit of improved working conditions and wages. The illustrations, painted in gouache, meticulously capture the characters and historic time period, adding authenticity to the storytelling. The back matter includes an author's note, time line, bibliography, a further resources.
VERDICT: A commendable addition to library collections focused on immigration, little-known historical figures, and the pivotal role of language and the written word in shaping the immigrant experience.—Lynne Stover
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Stover, Lynne. "Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan's Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants." WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, vol. 70, no. 1, 12 Jan. 2024, p. 1. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A780334738/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5cc641d2. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.
QUOTED: "The colorful, attractive gouache illustrations capture period settings very capably."
Finkelstein, Norman H. AMAZING ABE Holiday House (Children's None) $18.99 2, 20 ISBN: 9780823451647
A Yiddish-speaking visionary improved Jewish immigrants' lives in early-20th-century New York.
Born in 1860 Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire), Abe Cahan was a gifted linguist who learned Russian in addition to his native Yiddish. Abe taught school and ardently supported political and labor causes--dangerous in czarist Russia. Fearing for his life, Abe fled his country and, on the long journey to America, taught himself English. Upon arriving in New York, Abe labored in factories by day and improved his English by night, eventually teaching English to other Jewish newcomers. Soon, he became so proficient that he reported on Jewish immigrants' lives for English-language newspapers and wrote stories and novels in English. In 1897, Abe helped found and then became editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, a seminal Yiddish-language newspaper that acclimated generations of Jewish immigrants to American life, teaching them, among many things, about the rules of baseball; American history, government, and the importance of voting; and health and hygiene. Abe also added an enormously popular personal-advice column called the "Bintel Brief" ("Bundle of Letters"). This well-written, stimulating picture-book biography brings much-deserved attention to an important person who highlighted and respected the lives not only of Jewish immigrants but of all immigrants, as well as workers and the poor. The colorful, attractive gouache illustrations capture period settings very capably.
An influential figure receives the admiring treatment he's earned. (more about Abe Cahan, author's note, more about Yiddish, timeline, bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 7-11)
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"Finkelstein, Norman H.: AMAZING ABE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A774415130/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=96fd41b6. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.
QUOTED: "A joyous, sweet, and tender tale of intergenerational love."
Hiranandani, Veera THE GREATEST Random House Studio (Children's None) $18.99 9, 3 ISBN: 9780593645567
A family loves to visit Grandpa every Sunday.
The little ones are thrilled with everything he does, whether drawing cartoons, telling funny stories, creating silly games, or playing the piano. To them, he's magical--the best grandpa in the world. But modest Grandpa doesn't see himself as anyone special. After all, he's no Picasso, there are better storytellers, and Mozart has nothing to worry about. The children are impressed by his performance in leading the Passover seder, but he credits his own father with teaching him well. Maybe he should explain to them that he's just a regular person. But when they're all together, Grandpa truly feels like he's the greatest grandfather in the world. Their love and admiration for each other are unshakeable. Stamper's bright watercolor and gouache illustrations enhance the text with lovely touches. Each character displays delight and enthusiasm. The oldest grandchild is often separate from the group, engaging with various devices, but gradually joins the fun. Family members are tan-skinned, and further evidence of their Jewish culture appears in the form of a Hanukkah menorah and the backyard sukkah. Young readers and their grown-ups reading the book together will cheer for this loving grandfather.
A joyous, sweet, and tender tale of intergenerational love. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Hiranandani, Veera: THE GREATEST." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A799332951/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=85426360. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.
QUOTED: "Velvety watercolor and gouache illustrations by Stamper ... capture the pale-skinned Jewish family's warmth in this demonstrative work."
The Greatest
Veera Hiranandani, illus. by Vesper Stamper. Random House Studio, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-64556-7
Newbery Honoree Hiranandani's picture book debut is a moving ode to family connection from the perspective of a grandfather who's perceived as both "the greatest" and "a simple, ordinary" person. The elderly man loves Sundays, when his three grandchildren come to visit--the pages highlight their interactions, the grandfather's self-perception, and the grandchildren's openhearted enthusiasm about their grandfather's artmaking, storytelling, and cooking. "Hardly the next Picasso," he says in the face of his grandchildren's appreciation; "thousands of storytellers mold the language better," and "many chefs have prepared better feasts." As time passes, the quartet engages in the everyday as well as the seasonal--at Passover, the children see their grandfather as an important leader, while he knows that "he's only leading the Seder the way his father taught him." As the family builds a sukkah in autumn, the man wonders whether he should tell his grandchildren that he's "just a regular old person," then considers the nature of love's reflection. Velvety watercolor and gouache illustrations by Stamper (Amazing Abe) capture the pale-skinned Jewish family's warmth in this demonstrative work about the expansive strength of ordinary love. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. Illustrator's agent: Lori Kilkelly, LK Literary. (Sept.)
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"The Greatest." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 23, 10 June 2024, p. 85. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A800405318/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d6bea11c. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.