Overview
Shortlisted for The Carnegie Medal for Illustration Award 2023
A beautifully illustrated and presented intergenerational graphic novel that follows 11-year-old Benji and his elderly grandmother, Bubbe Rosa, as they traverse Brooklyn and Manhattan, gathering the ingredients for a Friday night dinner.
Praise for Alte Zachen
"The graphic novel format brilliantly allows us to see Bubbe in both her present and her past, allowing the reader to better understand her in all her cranky, opinionated grandeur, along with her sweet, caring grandson, Benji. A wonderful intergenerational story about the value of old things.ā -- Marissa Moss, Children's Book Author & Illustrator
"Taking a walk with Rosa and Benji just might change how readers see the world and everyoneās place in it. Highly recommended for graphic novel collections". -- School Library Journal Starred Review *Best Children's Books of 2022 selection*
"Phillipsās delĀiĀcate colĀors and fine details illusĀtrate the richĀness of city life. Two sisĀters arguĀing on a train, a couĀple dancĀing togethĀer, and immiĀgrantsā first view of the StatĀue of LibĀerĀtyāāāthese are all images that Bubbe conĀjures while lookĀing back over the years. In one full-colĀor scene that inteĀgrates past and present, she comes to terms with the inevitabilĀiĀty of change. As the book ends, with grandĀmothĀer and grandĀson against a New York City skyĀline, newĀness does not seem so threatĀenĀing, after all". -- Jewish Book Council
''To outsiders, Benjiās Bubbe is just a crabby old lady. To the boy, and eventually to us, she becomes a vulnerable figure deserving of great tenderness. āAlte Zachenā is less ambitious and searing than Art Spiegelmanās āMaus,ā but like that graphic novel it expands our understanding of the gulf that can exist between generations, particularly those divided by catastrophe''. -- Wall Street Journal
''Softly lined watercolor art portrays a moving narrativeā¦even as Benjy and Bubbeās worldviews clash, the Yiddish-peppered telling renders a familial bond that is at once mercurial and unshakable.'' -- Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
''Compelling and evocative, Alte Zachen is an eloquent intergenerational story that will resonate with and enlighten readers of all ages''. -- Celebrate Picture Books
''For a first graphic novel, Alte Zachen is a true success. This is award-winning storytelling''. -- Books for Keeps
''Every so often a book appears and you just know what an impact it's going to have. Alte Zachen by #ZiggyHanaor and @benjamindraws is one of those books''. -- Children Reading for Pleasure
''A tour de force. On behalf of all the #Bubbes and #Benjis thank you @cicadabooks for such a joyful and redemptive picture book''. -- Youth Libraries Group
''Exploring themes of migration, alienation, loss, perception and identity, this is both an important book and a window into our childrenās futures and our parentsā pasts''. -- School Reading List
Bubbeās relationship with the city is complex ā nothing is quite as she remembered it and she feels alienated and angry at the world around her. Benji, on the other hand, looks at the world, and his grandmother, with clear-eyed acceptance. As they wander the city, we catch glimpses of Bubbeās childhood in Germany, her young adulthood in 1950s Brooklyn, and her relationships; first with a baker called Gershon, and later with successful Joe, Benjiās grandfather. Gradually we piece together snippets of Bubbeās life, gaining an insight to some of the things that have formed her cantankerous personality. The journey culminates on the Lower East Side in a moving reunion between Rosa and Gershon, her first love. As the sun sets, Benji and his Bubbe walk home over the Williamsburg Bridge to make dinner.
This is a powerful, affecting and deceptively simple story of Jewish identity, of generational divides, of the surmountability of difference and of a restless city and its inhabitants.
This book title, Alte Zachen / Old Things, ISBN: 9781800660229, by Ziggy Hanaor, Benjamin Phillips, published by Cicada Books (September 6, 2022) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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