A Celebration of Jewish Picture Books

My roommate Colleen and I just got back from an amazing lecture and exhibit opening at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, celebrating the art of the Jewish picture book. The exhibit, entitled "Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books," was curated in conjuction with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art of Amherst, Massachusetts, and showcases the history of classics and modern favorites from Jewish picture book authors from all over the world.

Hosted by Amherst College professor Ilan Stevens, the lecture we attended, "A Celebration of Jewish Picture Books," featured French artist Serge Block, Caldecott winner Mordicai Gerstein, and Laurel Snyder, author of Max: The Pig who Wanted to be Kosher. The lecture examined some very interest points about children's books, specifically relating to those featuring Jewish themes.

Although all three authors were clearly chosen for their Jewish heritage, they all had very different stories as well as unique perspectives on children's literature.

Gerstein first began drawing when he was inspired by the pictures his mother cut out and scrapbooked from LIFE magazine, and although he spent time working on animated films, he always knew he wanted to tell the stories of the Old Testament. When Stevens asked him what drove him to tell stories with a biblical narrative, he responded with one of his favorite sayings: "Nothing is new but you," meaning that there are no new stories, it's all in the way you tell them.

In fourth grade, Snyder decided that when she grew up, she wanted to become rich and famous by writing books and plays for children. When she was growing up, she gravitated towards the midcentury canon of children's books featuring kids in nuclear families, having magical adventures. She realized she wanted to focus on the Jewish experience when she saw a divide between the Jewish picture books she saw in stores and the ones she wanted to read.

Block began his career as an illustrator for children's books "par hazard," that is to say, by accident. He furthered his career when, by chance, an American agent offered to represent him, and his horizons expanded when he moved to New York, where he admired the work of illustrators such as William Steig.

I was thrilled to see that one of the common themes of the lecture was the importance of reading picture books as a way to connect parents with their children, which is, of course, one of the most important messages of Reach Out and Read. Stevens stressed the importance of the aural tradition, as a method in which parents can introduce their children to the act of reading.