Reviews
Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal Jewish songwriting icon Irving Berlin immigrated to the United States as a child, but was American down to his core. Songs like There's No Business Like Show Business, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and the ubiquitous White Christmas, were all Berlin compositions. But the song which meant the most to him and for which he refused to take any personal profit was God Bless America. This richly-colored picture biography details Irving Berlin's younger years as he struggled to develop his musical talent. The illustrations make evocative use of shadow and light, creating a sense of movement across the pages. The reader is drawn into Berlin's world of New York streets and music-filled rooms. The text is dense enough to be informative, yet spare enough to keep the attention of young readers. This lovely book is highly recommended for ages 7 to 12.--Michal Malen Jewish Book Council Patriotism is subjective. Until recently I might have thought myself somewhat immune to its charms. I like my country quite a lot, but I've a low-tolerance for nationalism, and in this particular day and age that's not a difficult thing to come by. Fortunately all is not lost. As it turns out, children's books have proved to be a surprising repository for hope and patriotism in the best sense of the term. Last year the book Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers actually made me tear up every time I read it using little more than the Statue of Liberty and her role as it pertains to immigration. Immigration has proven to be a strong theme in many other books published this year, but one in particular stands out for me. While the story of Jewish immigration through Ellis Island is hardly new, Nancy Churnin and James Rey Sanchez's Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing taps into a fascinating life, giving a great deal of meaning to someone born in another country. Irving was a dreamer, and I mean that in every sense of the term. A small boy, fleeing the Cossacks of Russia, Irving Berlin (born Israel Baline) was on a voyage to America when he was just five-years-old. Settling in New York City, his family lived in a crowded apartment where they didn't have much of anything. When his father died, Irving was 13 and determined to make his way in the world. Singing on the street worked at first. Then singing in restaurants. Then writing music to make some dough. With the influence of his Jewish roots, jazz, and ragtime coming together, Irving used his music to celebrate his adopted country. And when the time came to make a ballad for WWII, Irving took the three notes from the Shema he heard on the boat from Russia and turned them into God Bless America. All this from a once penniless boy, who came to America with nothing but music in his heart. Churnin's book is by no means the first Irving Berlin picture book biography we've seen, but it may be the first to tip a hat the fact that the man was Jewish. Only it doesn't come out and say Irving Berlin was Jewish straight out so much as place the man within the context of his own life. Churnin is interested in drawing connections between Berlin's music and the cantorial tradition, but in a way that's accessible in a picture book format. No small job. She's also made the choice of showing his entire life in a mere 32-pages rather than a single inciting incident representing the whole. It's interesting to watch the ways in which his Jewishness either does or does not show up in the story. I credit the book with making it clear, but is it too subtle? Should it be more explicit? Possibly. But it isn't enough to merely take the facts of a person's life and put them down on paper. It's clear from the very subtitle of this book that Ms. Churnin is saying something strong and resounding about the role of immigrants in America, no matter their point of origin. What makes Irving such a fascinating test case is how he took his Jewish cantor songs and used them to not just adapt to the American music scene but redefine it in his own image. He wrote songs for two World Wars. Songs for American musicals. But what Churnin chooses to focus on most closely is his work on God Bless America. She ties that song into the words Irving said that his mother said to him when they arrived in New York. Listen to how she describes the song: It ended with three notes from the Shema, as he remembered hearing them on the boat, coming to America, long ago when the Statue had smiled at his prayer... At the end of the old melody, he added new words about the land he loved. So it is that Churning shows kids how Irving took different elements and merged them together to make something wholly new. She doesn't need to drill the point home. Kids are going to get that well enough on their own. I've recently been thinking more and more about the role of the illustrator in a picture book biography versus the role of the author. I hold authors accountable for quite a lot, particularly when they indulge in fake dialogue (something Churnin appears to eschew here). Illustration is a bit different. Unless you're working off of a documentary or photographs, pictures are inherently fictional. Who's to say that a biographical subject held their head at just that angle at that precise moment in time? So we let artists get away with a bit more. They can put a little more art into their artistry. Consider, for example, Sanchez's use of Berlin's red scarf. The scarf is a through line that connects the book. It's on Irving's neck when he takes a boat to New York City. It wraps around him when he's cold and wet on the streets. It flows in tandem with the notes that pour out of Irving's mouth and it appears on the neck of his old and young selves at the end. So am I giving artists a free pass here? Certainly not. I can believe in the scarf because it's something Irving could have had. But if Mr. Sanchez were to fill this book with obviously incorrect details (women in the early 1900s wearing pants, a city made up entirely of white people, Irving as a blonde, etc.) then that would be a red flag that he wasn't taking this book very seriously. Instead, while I cannot vouch that every tiny detail is correct, there's a ring of authenticity to what we see here. And, y'know, extra bonus: It's fun to look at! When I worked as a public children's librarian I grew to dread the picture book biography school assignment. Not because I thought they were a bad idea. I thought they were great! But in New York City different teachers require different things from a good biography. First and foremost: A Timeline. You'd be shocked at how few picture book biographies indulge in this little necessity. Teachers like Timelines and a book without one can often prove to be less useful to kids. Now the interesting thing about Irving Berlin is that while it does have a lovely Author's Note (that serves as a kind of supplemental biography) and Timeline, there isn't a Bibliography in sight. Fortunately, this is less of a problem for teachers and shouldn't impede its use. I'd like one personally since there's at least one direct quote in the text, but the aforementioned Author's Note does say that the manuscript was vetted by the Berlin family and Ted Chapin of the Irving Berlin Music Company. So that's okay then. There is one moment in this book that becomes significantly more wordy than any other. Around page 24 Ms. Churnin fills half the page with text about Berlin and the wars he contributed to. It's an interesting choice in a book that, both before and after that section, limits itself to just a couple sentences a page. I think I know why it's there, of course. In that half a page, Churnin is basically making the point of the book. That Irving was a machine, churning out all those patriotic songs. That he had good reason to do so. That when he created God Bless America it was an amalgamation of his past and his present and the world (and times) in which he lived. More to the point, it's yet another reminder that this man was an immigrant who paid back his new country tenfold with his talent. Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal Nancy Churnin, the theater critic for the Dallas Morning News, offers a fascinating and accessible picture book biography of the great songwriter, in a lovely narrative that is alive with music from the very beginning. Five-year-old Irving glimpses the Statue of Liberty as he and his family, fleeing the pogroms of Russia, arrive in New York on a ship full of immigrants: A melody rose and flew to her like Noah's dove in search of safe land: Shema Yisroel - Hear, O Israel. On the streets of New York the melodies in his head mixed with the crack of stickball games, the wail of the ragmen, and the creak of cartwheels on the cobblestones. The story of the unlikely beginnings of this self-taught songwriter is a fascinating one: he sang on street corners, got a job as a singing waiter, enlisted the restaurant pianist to help him write Marie from Sunny Italy which sold for 37 cents. Irving Berlin lived to be 101, yet Churnin paints in vivid strokes what feels like a full accounting of his life, particularly his inspiration for God Bless America, the radio hit sung by Kate Smith that inspired the U.S. on the eve of the dark days of World War II. The book notes that Berlin, who donated all proceeds from the song to Scout organizations, wrote it as a thank you to the country that opened its arms to countless people from all over the world, including a homeless boy who came to America with nothing but music in his heart. The vivid, distinctive illustrations are by a California artist and reflect his love for art [that] came from countless hours of reading comics, playing video games, and '90s Saturday morning cartoons. --The Buffalo News Irving Berlin and his family arrived in America as countless immigrant families did: in New York Harbor, with the Statue of Liberty serving as a welcoming beacon ( 'God bless America, ' Irving whispered ). Through vivid storytelling, Churnin describes young Irving's impressions of the unfamiliar city: Walking home, the melodies in his head mixed with the crack of stickball games, the wail of the ragmen, and the creak of cartwheels on the cobblestones. After his father's death, Berlin earns money by writing and singing songs on the street, then at a restaurant; a fortuitous job at a song-writing company leads to his success. Yet Churnin recounts how fame doesn't diminish Berlin's gratitude for his life in America: he gave all of the proceeds for his hugely popular song God Bless America to the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Sanchez's handsomely stylized graphics offer visual depth that hints at the many stories unfolding within Berlin's New York City community; readers will recognize Berlin in the crowds by his long red scarf, which curls emotively throughout the pages. Ages 7-12. (May)--Publishers Weekly A Jewish immigrant from Russia gives America some of its most iconic and beloved songs. When Israel Baline was just 5 ye ars old, his family fled pogroms in the Russian Empire and landed in New York City's Lower East Side community. In the 1890s the neighborhood was filled with the sights, smells, and, most of all, the sounds of a very crowded but vibrant community of poor Europeans who sailed past the Statue of Liberty in New York's harbor to make a new life. Israel, who later became Irving Berlin, was eager to capture those sounds in music. He had no formal musical training but succeeded grandly by melding the rich cantorial music of his father with the spirit of America. Churnin's text focuses on Berlin's early years and how his mother's words were an inspiration for God Bless America. She does not actually refer to Berlin as Jewish until her author's note. Sanchez's digital illustrations busily fill the mostly dark-hued pages with angular faces and the recurring motif of a very long swirling red scarf, worn by Berlin throughout. Librarians should note that the CIP information and the timeline ar e on pages pasted to the inside covers. A book to share that celebrates an immigrant and his abiding love for his adopted country, its holidays, and his home sweet home. (author's note, timeline) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)--Kirkus Reviews The story of songwriter and composer Irving Berlin's humble beginnings and rise to Broadway and Grammy fame takes shape in an engaging biography that highlights the compassion, generosity, and patriotism that characterized his life. Berlin is depicted wrapped in an expressive, bright red scarf that swirls and dances along the streets of New York along with lines of musical notes. Children will enjoy learning about the inspiration behind such well-known hits as White Christmas and God Bless America. --Foreward Review In the 1890's Irving's family fled from Russian Cossacks, just as many other Jewish families did. Thoguh his home in New York City was small and poor, music surrounded him constantly. Even after his father died and he slept on the streets, the music still called to him. He taught himself how to pick melodies out on the piano and eventually wrote more than 1500 songs - many of which are still sung today. Chrunin cuts right to the heart of Berlin's story and together with Sanchez's illustrations, they create a simple, heart-felt biography of the composer. I would love to use this in any music class. EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher--Kiss the Book Reviews Irving Berlin's life sings in this beautifully illustrated, crisply told biography. Churnin tell us how and why he came to this country at age 5, escaping a pogrom in Tsarist Russia. She writes about the financial struggles when his father dies, his beginnings as a songwriter and how his songs captured the love of his adopted country and won the hearts of the American people. An author's note and time line fill in biographical data. The exuberant art work captures the flavor and the rhythms of early 20th-century New York City.--Joanna Kraus San Jose Mercury News
Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal Jewish songwriting icon Irving Berlin immigrated to the United States as a child, but was American down to his core. Songs like There's No Business Like Show Business, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and the ubiquitous White Christmas, were all Berlin compositions. But the song which meant the most to him and for which he refused to take any personal profit was God Bless America. This richly-colored picture biography details Irving Berlin's younger years as he struggled to develop his musical talent. The illustrations make evocative use of shadow and light, creating a sense of movement across the pages. The reader is drawn into Berlin's world of New York streets and music-filled rooms. The text is dense enough to be informative, yet spare enough to keep the attention of young readers. This lovely book is highly recommended for ages 7 to 12.--Michal Malen Jewish Book Council Patriotism is subjective. Until recently I might have thought myself somewhat immune to its charms. I like my country quite a lot, but I've a low-tolerance for nationalism, and in this particular day and age that's not a difficult thing to come by. Fortunately all is not lost. As it turns out, children's books have proved to be a surprising repository for hope and patriotism in the best sense of the term. Last year the book Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers actually made me tear up every time I read it using little more than the Statue of Liberty and her role as it pertains to immigration. Immigration has proven to be a strong theme in many other books published this year, but one in particular stands out for me. While the story of Jewish immigration through Ellis Island is hardly new, Nancy Churnin and James Rey Sanchez's Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing taps into a fascinating life, giving a great deal of meaning to someone born in another country. Irving was a dreamer, and I mean that in every sense of the term. A small boy, fleeing the Cossacks of Russia, Irving Berlin (born Israel Baline) was on a voyage to America when he was just five-years-old. Settling in New York City, his family lived in a crowded apartment where they didn't have much of anything. When his father died, Irving was 13 and determined to make his way in the world. Singing on the street worked at first. Then singing in restaurants. Then writing music to make some dough. With the influence of his Jewish roots, jazz, and ragtime coming together, Irving used his music to celebrate his adopted country. And when the time came to make a ballad for WWII, Irving took the three notes from the Shema he heard on the boat from Russia and turned them into God Bless America. All this from a once penniless boy, who came to America with nothing but music in his heart. Churnin's book is by no means the first Irving Berlin picture book biography we've seen, but it may be the first to tip a hat the fact that the man was Jewish. Only it doesn't come out and say Irving Berlin was Jewish straight out so much as place the man within the context of his own life. Churnin is interested in drawing connections between Berlin's music and the cantorial tradition, but in a way that's accessible in a picture book format. No small job. She's also made the choice of showing his entire life in a mere 32-pages rather than a single inciting incident representing the whole. It's interesting to watch the ways in which his Jewishness either does or does not show up in the story. I credit the book with making it clear, but is it too subtle? Should it be more explicit? Possibly. But it isn't enough to merely take the facts of a person's life and put them down on paper. It's clear from the very subtitle of this book that Ms. Churnin is saying something strong and resounding about the role of immigrants in America, no matter their point of origin. What makes Irving such a fascinating test case is how he took his Jewish cantor songs and used them to not just adapt to the American music scene but redefine it in his own image. He wrote songs for two World Wars. Songs for American musicals. But what Churnin chooses to focus on most closely is his work on God Bless America. She ties that song into the words Irving said that his mother said to him when they arrived in New York. Listen to how she describes the song: It ended with three notes from the Shema, as he remembered hearing them on the boat, coming to America, long ago when the Statue had smiled at his prayer... At the end of the old melody, he added new words about the land he loved. So it is that Churning shows kids how Irving took different elements and merged them together to make something wholly new. She doesn't need to drill the point home. Kids are going to get that well enough on their own. I've recently been thinking more and more about the role of the illustrator in a picture book biography versus the role of the author. I hold authors accountable for quite a lot, particularly when they indulge in fake dialogue (something Churnin appears to eschew here). Illustration is a bit different. Unless you're working off of a documentary or photographs, pictures are inherently fictional. Who's to say that a biographical subject held their head at just that angle at that precise moment in time? So we let artists get away with a bit more. They can put a little more art into their artistry. Consider, for example, Sanchez's use of Berlin's red scarf. The scarf is a through line that connects the book. It's on Irving's neck when he takes a boat to New York City. It wraps around him when he's cold and wet on the streets. It flows in tandem with the notes that pour out of Irving's mouth and it appears on the neck of his old and young selves at the end. So am I giving artists a free pass here? Certainly not. I can believe in the scarf because it's something Irving could have had. But if Mr. Sanchez were to fill this book with obviously incorrect details (women in the early 1900s wearing pants, a city made up entirely of white people, Irving as a blonde, etc.) then that would be a red flag that he wasn't taking this book very seriously. Instead, while I cannot vouch that every tiny detail is correct, there's a ring of authenticity to what we see here. And, y'know, extra bonus: It's fun to look at! When I worked as a public children's librarian I grew to dread the picture book biography school assignment. Not because I thought they were a bad idea. I thought they were great! But in New York City different teachers require different things from a good biography. First and foremost: A Timeline. You'd be shocked at how few picture book biographies indulge in this little necessity. Teachers like Timelines and a book without one can often prove to be less useful to kids. Now the interesting thing about Irving Berlin is that while it does have a lovely Author's Note (that serves as a kind of supplemental biography) and Timeline, there isn't a Bibliography in sight. Fortunately, this is less of a problem for teachers and shouldn't impede its use. I'd like one personally since there's at least one direct quote in the text, but the aforementioned Author's Note does say that the manuscript was vetted by the Berlin family and Ted Chapin of the Irving Berlin Music Company. So that's okay then. There is one moment in this book that becomes significantly more wordy than any other. Around page 24 Ms. Churnin fills half the page with text about Berlin and the wars he contributed to. It's an interesting choice in a book that, both before and after that section, limits itself to just a couple sentences a page. I think I know why it's there, of course. In that half a page, Churnin is basically making the point of the book. That Irving was a machine, churning out all those patriotic songs. That he had good reason to do so. That when he created God Bless America it was an amalgamation of his past and his present and the world (and times) in which he lived. More to the point, it's yet another reminder that this man was an immigrant who paid back his new country tenfold with his talent. Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal Nancy Churnin, the theater critic for the Dallas Morning News, offers a fascinating and accessible picture book biography of the great songwriter, in a lovely narrative that is alive with music from the very beginning. Five-year-old Irving glimpses the Statue of Liberty as he and his family, fleeing the pogroms of Russia, arrive in New York on a ship full of immigrants: A melody rose and flew to her like Noah's dove in search of safe land: Shema Yisroel - Hear, O Israel. On the streets of New York the melodies in his head mixed with the crack of stickball games, the wail of the ragmen, and the creak of cartwheels on the cobblestones. The story of the unlikely beginnings of this self-taught songwriter is a fascinating one: he sang on street corners, got a job as a singing waiter, enlisted the restaurant pianist to help him write Marie from Sunny Italy which sold for 37 cents. Irving Berlin lived to be 101, yet Churnin paints in vivid strokes what feels like a full accounting of his life, particularly his inspiration for God Bless America, the radio hit sung by Kate Smith that inspired the U.S. on the eve of the dark days of World War II. The book notes that Berlin, who donated all proceeds from the song to Scout organizations, wrote it as a thank you to the country that opened its arms to countless people from all over the world, including a homeless boy who came to America with nothing but music in his heart. The vivid, distinctive illustrations are by a California artist and reflect his love for art [that] came from countless hours of reading comics, playing video games, and '90s Saturday morning cartoons. --The Buffalo News Irving Berlin and his family arrived in America as countless immigrant families did: in New York Harbor, with the Statue of Liberty serving as a welcoming beacon ( 'God bless America, ' Irving whispered ). Through vivid storytelling, Churnin describes young Irving's impressions of the unfamiliar city: Walking home, the melodies in his head mixed with the crack of stickball games, the wail of the ragmen, and the creak of cartwheels on the cobblestones. After his father's death, Berlin earns money by writing and singing songs on the street, then at a restaurant; a fortuitous job at a song-writing company leads to his success. Yet Churnin recounts how fame doesn't diminish Berlin's gratitude for his life in America: he gave all of the proceeds for his hugely popular song God Bless America to the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Sanchez's handsomely stylized graphics offer visual depth that hints at the many stories unfolding within Berlin's New York City community; readers will recognize Berlin in the crowds by his long red scarf, which curls emotively throughout the pages. Ages 7-12. (May)--Publishers Weekly A Jewish immigrant from Russia gives America some of its most iconic and beloved songs. When Israel Baline was just 5 ye ars old, his family fled pogroms in the Russian Empire and landed in New York City's Lower East Side community. In the 1890s the neighborhood was filled with the sights, smells, and, most of all, the sounds of a very crowded but vibrant community of poor Europeans who sailed past the Statue of Liberty in New York's harbor to make a new life. Israel, who later became Irving Berlin, was eager to capture those sounds in music. He had no formal musical training but succeeded grandly by melding the rich cantorial music of his father with the spirit of America. Churnin's text focuses on Berlin's early years and how his mother's words were an inspiration for God Bless America. She does not actually refer to Berlin as Jewish until her author's note. Sanchez's digital illustrations busily fill the mostly dark-hued pages with angular faces and the recurring motif of a very long swirling red scarf, worn by Berlin throughout. Librarians should note that the CIP information and the timeline ar e on pages pasted to the inside covers. A book to share that celebrates an immigrant and his abiding love for his adopted country, its holidays, and his home sweet home. (author's note, timeline) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)--Kirkus Reviews The story of songwriter and composer Irving Berlin's humble beginnings and rise to Broadway and Grammy fame takes shape in an engaging biography that highlights the compassion, generosity, and patriotism that characterized his life. Berlin is depicted wrapped in an expressive, bright red scarf that swirls and dances along the streets of New York along with lines of musical notes. Children will enjoy learning about the inspiration behind such well-known hits as White Christmas and God Bless America. --Foreward Review In the 1890's Irving's family fled from Russian Cossacks, just as many other Jewish families did. Thoguh his home in New York City was small and poor, music surrounded him constantly. Even after his father died and he slept on the streets, the music still called to him. He taught himself how to pick melodies out on the piano and eventually wrote more than 1500 songs - many of which are still sung today. Chrunin cuts right to the heart of Berlin's story and together with Sanchez's illustrations, they create a simple, heart-felt biography of the composer. I would love to use this in any music class. EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher--Kiss the Book Reviews
A Jewish immigrant from Russia gives America some of its most iconic and beloved songs. When Israel Baline was just 5 years old, his family fled pogroms in the Russian Empire and landed in New York City's Lower East Side community. In the 1890s the neighborhood was filled with the sights, smells, and, most of all, sounds of a very crowded but vibrant community of poor Europeans who sailed past the Statue of Liberty in New York's harbor to make a new life. Israel, who later became Irving Berlin, was eager to capture those sounds in music. He had no formal musical training but succeeded grandly by melding the rich cantorial music of his father with the spirit of America. Churnin's text focuses on Berlin's early years and how his mother's words were an inspiration for 'God Bless America.' She does not actually refer to Berlin as Jewish until her author's note. Sanchez's digital illustrations busily fill the mostly dark-hued pages with angular faces and the recurring motif of a very long swirling red scarf, worn by Berlin throughout. Librarians should note that the CIP information and the timeline are on pages pasted to the inside covers. A book to share that celebrates an immigrant and his abiding love for his adopted country, its holidays, and his 'home sweet home.' --Kirkus Reviews -- Journal (3/11/2020 12:00:00 AM) Inventive artwork that uses a mix of shapes and shadow draws children into the story of the immigrant boy whose music captured the soul of America. The first spread shows an array of notes streaming from Berlin's mouth as he passes the Statue of Liberty, and throughout the book, the focus is on Berlin's immigrant roots and the love he feels for his new country, which helps him win such success. Although the text is factual, Churnin does take occasional liberties, as in an early scene where the child Berlin promises himself he's going to write a song for the Statue of Liberty. The evocative prose brings readers close to tenement life, describing it with sounds like the 'steady treadle of the sewing machine' and 'the thump of his mother kneading dough.' Details of Berlin's adult life will be found, for the most part, in the author's note and time line. The last couple of pages capsulize his career and talk about the effect of 'God Bless America' on the country. An inviting look at a timeless life. --Booklist -- Journal (3/11/2020 12:00:00 AM) Irving Berlin and his family arrived in America as countless immigrant families did: in New York Harbor, with the Statue of Liberty serving as a welcoming beacon (''God bless America, ' Irving whispered'). Through vivid storytelling, Churnin describes young Irving's impressions of the unfamiliar city: 'Walking home, the melodies in his head mixed with the crack of stickball games, the wail of the ragmen, and the creak of cartwheels on the cobblestones.' After his father's death, Berlin earns money by writing and singing songs on the street, then at a restaurant; a fortuitous job at a song-writing company leads to his success. Yet Churnin recounts how fame doesn't diminish Berlin's gratitude for his life in America: he gave all of the proceeds for his hugely popular song 'God Bless America' to the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Sanchez's handsomely stylized graphics offer visual depth that hints at the many stories unfolding within Berlin's New York City community; readers will recognize Berlin in the crowds by his long red scarf, which curls emotively throughout the pages. --Publishers Weekly -- Journal (3/11/2020 12:00:00 AM) The story of songwriter and composer Irving Berlin's humble beginnings and rise to Broadway and Grammy fame takes shape in an engaging biography that highlights the compassion, generosity, and patriotism that characterized his life. Berlin is depicted wrapped in an expressive, bright red scarf that swirls and dances along the streets of New York along with lines of musical notes. Children will enjoy learning about the inspiration behind such well-known hits as 'White Christmas' and 'God Bless America.'--Foreword Reviews -- Website (3/11/2020 12:00:00 AM) The Jewish Experience in America Below is a selection of books that appeared on the 'Love Your Neighbor' book lists as well as other new titles that will help children learn about the Jewish religion, culture, history, and contemporary Jewish life. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the song 'God Bless America, ' three new picture books about its composer, Irving Berlin, were published in 2018, each focusing on slightly different aspects of his story as a Jewish immigrant fleeing pogroms in Russia and the prejudices and challenges he faced in America. Churnin emphasizes the beginnings of Berlin's career while Kimmelman gives more attention to his family and his service in both world wars. Focusing on the creation of 'God Bless America' and its legacy, Nuchi's text is more concise and the most fun to read aloud. The illustrations all differ in style, palette, mood, and medium. All three books include extensive back matter. --School Library Journal -- Journal (2/1/2019 12:00:00 AM)
Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal Jewish songwriting icon Irving Berlin immigrated to the United States as a child, but was American down to his core. Songs like There's No Business Like Show Business, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and the ubiquitous White Christmas, were all Berlin compositions. But the song which meant the most to him and for which he refused to take any personal profit was God Bless America. This richly-colored picture biography details Irving Berlin's younger years as he struggled to develop his musical talent. The illustrations make evocative use of shadow and light, creating a sense of movement across the pages. The reader is drawn into Berlin's world of New York streets and music-filled rooms. The text is dense enough to be informative, yet spare enough to keep the attention of young readers. This lovely book is highly recommended for ages 7 to 12.--Michal Malen Jewish Book Council Patriotism is subjective. Until recently I might have thought myself somewhat immune to its charms. I like my country quite a lot, but I've a low-tolerance for nationalism, and in this particular day and age that's not a difficult thing to come by. Fortunately all is not lost. As it turns out, children's books have proved to be a surprising repository for hope and patriotism in the best sense of the term. Last year the book Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers actually made me tear up every time I read it using little more than the Statue of Liberty and her role as it pertains to immigration. Immigration has proven to be a strong theme in many other books published this year, but one in particular stands out for me. While the story of Jewish immigration through Ellis Island is hardly new, Nancy Churnin and James Rey Sanchez's Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing taps into a fascinating life, giving a great deal of meaning to someone born in another country. Irving was a dreamer, and I mean that in every sense of the term. A small boy, fleeing the Cossacks of Russia, Irving Berlin (born Israel Baline) was on a voyage to America when he was just five-years-old. Settling in New York City, his family lived in a crowded apartment where they didn't have much of anything. When his father died, Irving was 13 and determined to make his way in the world. Singing on the street worked at first. Then singing in restaurants. Then writing music to make some dough. With the influence of his Jewish roots, jazz, and ragtime coming together, Irving used his music to celebrate his adopted country. And when the time came to make a ballad for WWII, Irving took the three notes from the Shema he heard on the boat from Russia and turned them into God Bless America. All this from a once penniless boy, who came to America with nothing but music in his heart. Churnin's book is by no means the first Irving Berlin picture book biography we've seen, but it may be the first to tip a hat the fact that the man was Jewish. Only it doesn't come out and say Irving Berlin was Jewish straight out so much as place the man within the context of his own life. Churnin is interested in drawing connections between Berlin's music and the cantorial tradition, but in a way that's accessible in a picture book format. No small job. She's also made the choice of showing his entire life in a mere 32-pages rather than a single inciting incident representing the whole. It's interesting to watch the ways in which his Jewishness either does or does not show up in the story. I credit the book with making it clear, but is it too subtle? Should it be more explicit? Possibly. But it isn't enough to merely take the facts of a person's life and put them down on paper. It's clear from the very subtitle of this book that Ms. Churnin is saying something strong and resounding about the role of immigrants in America, no matter their point of origin. What makes Irving such a fascinating test case is how he took his Jewish cantor songs and used them to not just adapt to the American music scene but redefine it in his own image. He wrote songs for two World Wars. Songs for American musicals. But what Churnin chooses to focus on most closely is his work on God Bless America. She ties that song into the words Irving said that his mother said to him when they arrived in New York. Listen to how she describes the song: It ended with three notes from the Shema, as he remembered hearing them on the boat, coming to America, long ago when the Statue had smiled at his prayer... At the end of the old melody, he added new words about the land he loved. So it is that Churning shows kids how Irving took different elements and merged them together to make something wholly new. She doesn't need to drill the point home. Kids are going to get that well enough on their own. I've recently been thinking more and more about the role of the illustrator in a picture book biography versus the role of the author. I hold authors accountable for quite a lot, particularly when they indulge in fake dialogue (something Churnin appears to eschew here). Illustration is a bit different. Unless you're working off of a documentary or photographs, pictures are inherently fictional. Who's to say that a biographical subject held their head at just that angle at that precise moment in time? So we let artists get away with a bit more. They can put a little more art into their artistry. Consider, for example, Sanchez's use of Berlin's red scarf. The scarf is a through line that connects the book. It's on Irving's neck when he takes a boat to New York City. It wraps around him when he's cold and wet on the streets. It flows in tandem with the notes that pour out of Irving's mouth and it appears on the neck of his old and young selves at the end. So am I giving artists a free pass here? Certainly not. I can believe in the scarf because it's something Irving could have had. But if Mr. Sanchez were to fill this book with obviously incorrect details (women in the early 1900s wearing pants, a city made up entirely of white people, Irving as a blonde, etc.) then that would be a red flag that he wasn't taking this book very seriously. Instead, while I cannot vouch that every tiny detail is correct, there's a ring of authenticity to what we see here. And, y'know, extra bonus: It's fun to look at! When I worked as a public children's librarian I grew to dread the picture book biography school assignment. Not because I thought they were a bad idea. I thought they were great! But in New York City different teachers require different things from a good biography. First and foremost: A Timeline. You'd be shocked at how few picture book biographies indulge in this little necessity. Teachers like Timelines and a book without one can often prove to be less useful to kids. Now the interesting thing about Irving Berlin is that while it does have a lovely Author's Note (that serves as a kind of supplemental biography) and Timeline, there isn't a Bibliography in sight. Fortunately, this is less of a problem for teachers and shouldn't impede its use. I'd like one personally since there's at least one direct quote in the text, but the aforementioned Author's Note does say that the manuscript was vetted by the Berlin family and Ted Chapin of the Irving Berlin Music Company. So that's okay then. There is one moment in this book that becomes significantly more wordy than any other. Around page 24 Ms. Churnin fills half the page with text about Berlin and the wars he contributed to. It's an interesting choice in a book that, both before and after that section, limits itself to just a couple sentences a page. I think I know why it's there, of course. In that half a page, Churnin is basically making the point of the book. That Irving was a machine, churning out all those patriotic songs. That he had good reason to do so. That when he created God Bless America it was an amalgamation of his past and his present and the world (and times) in which he lived. More to the point, it's yet another reminder that this man was an immigrant who paid back his new country tenfold with his talent. Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal
Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal Jewish songwriting icon Irving Berlin immigrated to the United States as a child, but was American down to his core. Songs like There's No Business Like Show Business, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and the ubiquitous White Christmas, were all Berlin compositions. But the song which meant the most to him and for which he refused to take any personal profit was God Bless America. This richly-colored picture biography details Irving Berlin's younger years as he struggled to develop his musical talent. The illustrations make evocative use of shadow and light, creating a sense of movement across the pages. The reader is drawn into Berlin's world of New York streets and music-filled rooms. The text is dense enough to be informative, yet spare enough to keep the attention of young readers. This lovely book is highly recommended for ages 7 to 12.--Michal Malen Jewish Book Council Patriotism is subjective. Until recently I might have thought myself somewhat immune to its charms. I like my country quite a lot, but I've a low-tolerance for nationalism, and in this particular day and age that's not a difficult thing to come by. Fortunately all is not lost. As it turns out, children's books have proved to be a surprising repository for hope and patriotism in the best sense of the term. Last year the book Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers actually made me tear up every time I read it using little more than the Statue of Liberty and her role as it pertains to immigration. Immigration has proven to be a strong theme in many other books published this year, but one in particular stands out for me. While the story of Jewish immigration through Ellis Island is hardly new, Nancy Churnin and James Rey Sanchez's Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing taps into a fascinating life, giving a great deal of meaning to someone born in another country. Irving was a dreamer, and I mean that in every sense of the term. A small boy, fleeing the Cossacks of Russia, Irving Berlin (born Israel Baline) was on a voyage to America when he was just five-years-old. Settling in New York City, his family lived in a crowded apartment where they didn't have much of anything. When his father died, Irving was 13 and determined to make his way in the world. Singing on the street worked at first. Then singing in restaurants. Then writing music to make some dough. With the influence of his Jewish roots, jazz, and ragtime coming together, Irving used his music to celebrate his adopted country. And when the time came to make a ballad for WWII, Irving took the three notes from the Shema he heard on the boat from Russia and turned them into God Bless America. All this from a once penniless boy, who came to America with nothing but music in his heart. Churnin's book is by no means the first Irving Berlin picture book biography we've seen, but it may be the first to tip a hat the fact that the man was Jewish. Only it doesn't come out and say Irving Berlin was Jewish straight out so much as place the man within the context of his own life. Churnin is interested in drawing connections between Berlin's music and the cantorial tradition, but in a way that's accessible in a picture book format. No small job. She's also made the choice of showing his entire life in a mere 32-pages rather than a single inciting incident representing the whole. It's interesting to watch the ways in which his Jewishness either does or does not show up in the story. I credit the book with making it clear, but is it too subtle? Should it be more explicit? Possibly. But it isn't enough to merely take the facts of a person's life and put them down on paper. It's clear from the very subtitle of this book that Ms. Churnin is saying something strong and resounding about the role of immigrants in America, no matter their point of origin. What makes Irving such a fascinating test case is how he took his Jewish cantor songs and used them to not just adapt to the American music scene but redefine it in his own image. He wrote songs for two World Wars. Songs for American musicals. But what Churnin chooses to focus on most closely is his work on God Bless America. She ties that song into the words Irving said that his mother said to him when they arrived in New York. Listen to how she describes the song: It ended with three notes from the Shema, as he remembered hearing them on the boat, coming to America, long ago when the Statue had smiled at his prayer... At the end of the old melody, he added new words about the land he loved. So it is that Churning shows kids how Irving took different elements and merged them together to make something wholly new. She doesn't need to drill the point home. Kids are going to get that well enough on their own. I've recently been thinking more and more about the role of the illustrator in a picture book biography versus the role of the author. I hold authors accountable for quite a lot, particularly when they indulge in fake dialogue (something Churnin appears to eschew here). Illustration is a bit different. Unless you're working off of a documentary or photographs, pictures are inherently fictional. Who's to say that a biographical subject held their head at just that angle at that precise moment in time? So we let artists get away with a bit more. They can put a little more art into their artistry. Consider, for example, Sanchez's use of Berlin's red scarf. The scarf is a through line that connects the book. It's on Irving's neck when he takes a boat to New York City. It wraps around him when he's cold and wet on the streets. It flows in tandem with the notes that pour out of Irving's mouth and it appears on the neck of his old and young selves at the end. So am I giving artists a free pass here? Certainly not. I can believe in the scarf because it's something Irving could have had. But if Mr. Sanchez were to fill this book with obviously incorrect details (women in the early 1900s wearing pants, a city made up entirely of white people, Irving as a blonde, etc.) then that would be a red flag that he wasn't taking this book very seriously. Instead, while I cannot vouch that every tiny detail is correct, there's a ring of authenticity to what we see here. And, y'know, extra bonus: It's fun to look at! When I worked as a public children's librarian I grew to dread the picture book biography school assignment. Not because I thought they were a bad idea. I thought they were great! But in New York City different teachers require different things from a good biography. First and foremost: A Timeline. You'd be shocked at how few picture book biographies indulge in this little necessity. Teachers like Timelines and a book without one can often prove to be less useful to kids. Now the interesting thing about Irving Berlin is that while it does have a lovely Author's Note (that serves as a kind of supplemental biography) and Timeline, there isn't a Bibliography in sight. Fortunately, this is less of a problem for teachers and shouldn't impede its use. I'd like one personally since there's at least one direct quote in the text, but the aforementioned Author's Note does say that the manuscript was vetted by the Berlin family and Ted Chapin of the Irving Berlin Music Company. So that's okay then. There is one moment in this book that becomes significantly more wordy than any other. Around page 24 Ms. Churnin fills half the page with text about Berlin and the wars he contributed to. It's an interesting choice in a book that, both before and after that section, limits itself to just a couple sentences a page. I think I know why it's there, of course. In that half a page, Churnin is basically making the point of the book. That Irving was a machine, churning out all those patriotic songs. That he had good reason to do so. That when he created God Bless America it was an amalgamation of his past and his present and the world (and times) in which he lived. More to the point, it's yet another reminder that this man was an immigrant who paid back his new country tenfold with his talent. Together, Churnin and Sanchez have created a timely biography that says a lot about the world in which we live and, as a bonus, just happens to be gorgeous to the eye and ear alike. More like this please!--Elizabeth Bird Fuse #8, School Library Journal Irving Berlin and his family arrived in America as countless immigrant families did: in New York Harbor, with the Statue of Liberty serving as a welcoming beacon ( 'God bless America, ' Irving whispered ). Through vivid storytelling, Churnin describes young Irving's impressions of the unfamiliar city: Walking home, the melodies in his head mixed with the crack of stickball games, the wail of the ragmen, and the creak of cartwheels on the cobblestones. After his father's death, Berlin earns money by writing and singing songs on the street, then at a restaurant; a fortuitous job at a song-writing company leads to his success. Yet Churnin recounts how fame doesn't diminish Berlin's gratitude for his life in America: he gave all of the proceeds for his hugely popular song God Bless America to the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Sanchez's handsomely stylized graphics offer visual depth that hints at the many stories unfolding within Berlin's New York City community; readers will recognize Berlin in the crowds by his long red scarf, which curls emotively throughout the pages. Ages 7-12. (May)--Publishers Weekly A Jewish immigrant from Russia gives America some of its most iconic and beloved songs. When Israel Baline was just 5 ye ars old, his family fled pogroms in the Russian Empire and landed in New York City's Lower East Side community. In the 1890s the neighborhood was filled with the sights, smells, and, most of all, the sounds of a very crowded but vibrant community of poor Europeans who sailed past the Statue of Liberty in New York's harbor to make a new life. Israel, who later became Irving Berlin, was eager to capture those sounds in music. He had no formal musical training but succeeded grandly by melding the rich cantorial music of his father with the spirit of America. Churnin's text focuses on Berlin's early years and how his mother's words were an inspiration for God Bless America. She does not actually refer to Berlin as Jewish until her author's note. Sanchez's digital illustrations busily fill the mostly dark-hued pages with angular faces and the recurring motif of a very long swirling red scarf, worn by Berlin throughout. Librarians should note that the CIP information and the timeline ar e on pages pasted to the inside covers. A book to share that celebrates an immigrant and his abiding love for his adopted country, its holidays, and his home sweet home. (author's note, timeline) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)--Kirkus Reviews The story of songwriter and composer Irving Berlin's humble beginnings and rise to Broadway and Grammy fame takes shape in an engaging biography that highlights the compassion, generosity, and patriotism that characterized his life. Berlin is depicted wrapped in an expressive, bright red scarf that swirls and dances along the streets of New York along with lines of musical notes. Children will enjoy learning about the inspiration behind such well-known hits as White Christmas and God Bless America. --Foreward Review In the 1890's Irving's family fled from Russian Cossacks, just as many other Jewish families did. Thoguh his home in New York City was small and poor, music surrounded him constantly. Even after his father died and he slept on the streets, the music still called to him. He taught himself how to pick melodies out on the piano and eventually wrote more than 1500 songs - many of which are still sung today. Chrunin cuts right to the heart of Berlin's story and together with Sanchez's illustrations, they create a simple, heart-felt biography of the composer. I would love to use this in any music class. EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher--Kiss the Book Reviews Nancy Churnin, the theater critic for the Dallas Morning News, offers a fascinating and accessible picture book biography of the great songwriter, in a lovely narrative that is alive with music from the very beginning. Five-year-old Irving glimpses the Statue of Liberty as he and his family, fleeing the pogroms of Russia, arrive in New York on a ship full of immigrants: A melody rose and flew to her like Noah's dove in search of safe land: Shema Yisroel - Hear, O Israel. On the streets of New York the melodies in his head mixed with the crack of stickball games, the wail of the ragmen, and the creak of cartwheels on the cobblestones. The story of the unlikely beginnings of this self-taught songwriter is a fascinating one: he sang on street corners, got a job as a singing waiter, enlisted the restaurant pianist to help him write Marie from Sunny Italy which sold for 37 cents. Irving Berlin lived to be 101, yet Churnin paints in vivid strokes what feels like a full accounting of his life, particularly his inspiration for God Bless America, the radio hit sung by Kate Smith that inspired the U.S. on the eve of the dark days of World War II. The book notes that Berlin, who donated all proceeds from the song to Scout organizations, wrote it as a thank you to the country that opened its arms to countless people from all over the world, including a homeless boy who came to America with nothing but music in his heart. The vivid, distinctive illustrations are by a California artist and reflect his love for art [that] came from countless hours of reading comics, playing video games, and '90s Saturday morning cartoons. --The Buffalo News Irving Berlin's life sings in this beautifully illustrated, crisply told biography. Churnin tell us how and why he came to this country at age 5, escaping a pogrom in Tsarist Russia. She writes about the financial struggles when his father dies, his beginnings as a songwriter and how his songs captured the love of his adopted country and won the hearts of the American people. An author's note and time line fill in biographical data. The exuberant art work captures the flavor and the rhythms of early 20th-century New York City.--Joanna Kraus San Jose Mercury News
