Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas | 
| Author: Michael J. Rosen
Creator: Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $15.99 (100%)
New (7) Used (42) Collectible (5) from $0.01
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 1484170
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Pages: 32
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.4
ISBN: 0152253947
EAN: 9780152253943
ASIN: 0152253947
Publication Date: October 15, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
A child's vision of religious tolerance is exquisitely played out in this story about an elderly Christian barber and a Jewish child who befriends him. As a hobby, the African American barber makes elaborate woodcarvings--many of which refer to events or characters in the Bible. Michael, a 9-year-old Jewish boy, often visits the barbershop just to admire old Elijah's carvings, especially that of Noah's Ark--a story that belongs to Jewish as well as Christian teachings. One day when Hanukkah and Christmas coincidentally overlap, Elijah gives Michael a special gift, a carved guardian angel. Immediately Michael is filled with a jumble of feelings--gratitude for such a beautiful gift, concern that his parents might disapprove, and an even greater fear that God may frown upon a Christmas angel, "a graven image," in Michael's home. The thick sweeps of paint, the heavy uses of wood-tones, and primitive images make the settings and characters look as though Elijah carved them himself. When Michael finally reveals the carved angel to his parents, they help the young boy understand how expressions of friendship, love, and protection can be carried into any home, regardless of the household's religion. Michael J. Rosen based this story on the real-life Elijah Pierce (1892-1984), a lay minister, barber, and woodcarver from Columbus, Ohio, whose award-winning woodcarvings are now owned by the Columbus Museum of Art. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustration from Elijah's Angel by Michael J. Rosen. Illustrations (c)1992 by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company.) (Ages 5 and older) --Gail Hudson
Product Description
Details the special friendship that exists between Michael, a Jewish boy, and Elijah, an old black barber and woodcarver, who gives Michael a carved Christmas angel, in a story based on the life of sculptor Elijah Pierce.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 A Disturbing Line October 10, 2007
Megan Deperro (NY)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well, the book was a bit boring in my opinion. Also, the line about the hanging Black men is much too disturbing and controversial for children.
 A story for ALL holidays, all readers August 16, 2005
2ManyCooks (Columbus, Ohio)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have taught this book for more than ten years. My students are always moved and inspired by it. This book won the "Living the Dream Award," for the book that embodies the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King. It was a starred Horn Book Magazine and an American Booksellers "Pick of the Lists." It was one of Essence Magazine's favorite books that celebrate African-American life, a CBC-NCSS "Notable 1992 Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies," a Hungry Mind Review Children's Book of Distinction: "...this book creates a line of footprints between the two holidays as it does between two households." It's a Parents Magazine Best Books of 1992 and the winner of the National Jewish Book Award. All those awards mean one thing, but the story is approachable, tender, full of feeling, and broadly appealing to readers of all ages.
Dark in Parts December 30, 2001
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I ordered this book for my 6 year old grand daughter. Though it is a wonderful story, I personally felt that the discussion of hanging the blacks was too dark for the child's book and I returned it. I read the book and felt unfortable giving it, so I had my husband read it, he agreed. Though the truth of the history of the blacks cannot be hid, it really was not needed in this story of friendship.
We read this every year. December 25, 2001
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful story that I read aloud to my children every year on Chanukkah. They love it and so do I.
One of the best illustrators living March 31, 2001
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I am such a huge Aminah Robinson (the illustrator) fan! Be sure to check out all of the books she has illustrated. And don't even think about buying any of them in paperback. The heart and soul that she obviously puts in to her drawings will move you to tears. This is one of my favorites. The Amazon review does a good job explaining the story to you. It really resonates with all ages. One bit of trivia I can give you is that Aminah herself was a personal friend of Elijah Pierce.
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