Published earlier in 2017, The Sundown Kid has already been recognized as a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Young Readers.
Atlanta, Georgia (PRWEB) April 06, 2017
August House is pleased to announce that the Mom’s Choice Awards has selected The Sundown Kid: A Southwestern Shabbat as a Gold Award Recipient for Children’s Picture Books. The Mom’s Choice Award is a globally recognized award with an esteemed panel of evaluators composed of experts, librarians, artists, authors, parents and children among others. This award recognizes family-friendly media, products, and services created for children, families and educators.
Published earlier in 2017, The Sundown Kid: A Southwestern Shabbat, written by Barbara Bietz and illustrated by John Kanzler, has already been recognized as a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Young Readers. The Sundown Kid, a LittleFolk picture book, tells the story of a Jewish family's move to the "Wild West." In hopes of creating a new home and finding a new community in the desolate southwest terrain, the family does their best to preserve their traditions.
However, they are the only Jewish family in their small southwestern town. Despite keeping busy with chores, adapting to their new home among strangers proves to be a challenge. Every Shabbat, Mama complains that there is "too much soup, not enough family." The young boy has an idea to help relieve Mama's homesickness and invites their new neighbors to join them for Shabbat.
John Kanzler’s illustrations capture this pioneer family in a setting of warm Southwestern hues and soft lines, layered with a montage of vintage photographs that emphasize the importance of family, history and tradition.
In a review published through Storyteller.net, a writer praised, "Barbara has created essentially a first-person fiction regarding a history reality of Jewish families bringing their culture and religion to the Old West. The author tells of one young man's solution to the problem, resulting in a multicultural gathering of food and community."
In another review published in Kirkus, the reviewer wrote, "Bietz uses an oral storytelling style with repetitive phrasing to introduce the arrival of Shabbat, enfolding both details of the hardworking life of homesteaders with Jewish cultural details...Welcoming guests and even strangers to the dinner table is part of the Shabbat ritual, and it's celebrated nicely here."
The Sundown Kid: A Southwestern Shabbat (paperback, 978-1939160944) is now available through local and national booksellers.
August House is a highly acclaimed and award-winning multimedia publisher of children’s picture books, folktale anthologies, scary story collections, and resource books. Located in Atlanta, GA, August House has developed one of the most highly respected collections of folktales from the world’s great oral traditions. You can find more information about August House at http://www.augusthouse.com, or on Facebook and Twitter at @augusthouseinc.
