Grandpa's Gamble - Hardcover

Michelson is a Marshall Cavendish author.

"Complex issues are simply and poetically dealt with in Michelson's family tale cum free-verse poem. The form lets him tell this story of faith in elegantly streamlined language, without excess explanation and without interfering with the flow of the plot. Moser's portraits enhance but never overwhelm the story. He uses an understated, soft approach in these graphite and sepia-wash illustrations, eschewing his usual flashily capable style. Full-page illustrations highlighted with white chalk and paint look like old leaves of a diary, brown and curling at the edges, set against crisp white pages." -- > --
"The sepia-tone illustrations on handmade paper are as plain and beautiful as the words in this moving immigrant Passover story. Why is Grandpa Sam davening (praying) all the time? To a contemporary kid and his sister, Grandpa is a bore, who never seems to do anything but pray, his head bowed and covered by a plain black yarmulke. Their mother is always telling them to be quiet so that Grandpa can pray. Then Grandpa tells the kids his story: how as a child his parents sent him away from persecution in Poland to the promised land of America....Moser's slightly blurry pictures are like old family photographs. They capture the tough, brazen immigrant culture ("an honest man can't even make a living picking pockets anymore") as well as the intimate bonds of love and faith across generations." - --Booklist, March 15, 1999

"Flavorful dialogue....Vibrant tale." "While the story takes place at Passover, it is relevant to anytime." --Publishers Weekly, March 22, 1999