Red and green and blue and white

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Title :

Red and green and blue and white / words by Lee Wind ; pictures by Paul O. Zelinsky.

Title:

Red and green and blue and white

Author:

Wind, Lee

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 cm

ISBN:

9781646140879

Production / Publication Information:

Montclair, N.J. : Levine Querido, 2021.

General Note:

"Inspired by a true story."

Summary:

On Isaac's street most of the houses are decorated in red and green for Christmas including his friend, Teresa's, while Isaac's house is blue and white for Hanukkah; then someone smashes Isaac's window in the night, and Teresa comes up with a way to show support her friend--and gets the whole community to rally around their Jewish family.

Target audience note:

Ages 4-7.

Language:

English

Added Author:

Zelinsky, Paul O.

Genre:

Children's stories.

Subject Term:

Antisemitism -- Juvenile fiction.

Hate crimes -- Juvenile fiction.

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

Neighbors -- Juvenile fiction.

Communities -- Juvenile fiction.

Antisemitism -- Fiction.

Hate crimes -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Neighbors -- Fiction.

Hanukkah -- Fiction.

Christmas -- Fiction.

JUVENILE FICTION / General.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	JE WIN / HOLIDAY	31330009091343	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	JE WIN / HOLIDAY	31330009402177	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	E/WIN	33934004446382	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	E WIND	32116003848930	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	JJ HANUKKAH WIND	32117002101081	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	HOL/HAN/WIND	31480011536841	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	JJHOL WIND	32120001377983	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groton Public Library	JHOL WIN	37003701648173	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	JJ WIN	30470001966463	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	J/PIC/WIND	31479007503286	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	JE WIND	32122002863359	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lawrence Public Library	E HOLIDAY WIN	31549004912191	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lowell - Pollard Memorial Library	JE WIN (HOLIDAY)	31481005592600	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library	JJ WIN (HANUKKAH/CHRISTMAS)	32124002050664	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library	JJ WIN/ HANUKKAH	32126001818348	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	JJ WIN (HOLIDAY)	31550002553284	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	HANUKKAH JJ WIN	32132003294116	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Topsfield Town Library	JJ WIND	32133002597202	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... West Newbury - G.A.R. Memorial Library	JJ WIN -HANUKKAH	32135001545462	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Wilmington Memorial Library	PICTURE BOOK HOLIDAY HANUKKAH WIND	32136003506379	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Inspired by a true story, this is a tale of a community that banded together to spread light.

It's a holiday season that both Isaac, whose family is Jewish, and Teresa, whose family is Christian, have looked forward to for months! They've been counting the days, playing in the snow, making cookies, drawing (Teresa) and writing poems (Isaac). They enjoy all the things they share, as well as the things that make them different.

But when Isaac's window is smashed in the middle of the night, it seems like maybe not everyone appreciates "difference."

PRAISE

★ "Wind's lightly fictionalized version of the 1993 incident wherein a community stood up to bigotry . . . is conveyed with lyrical simplicity. The visual treatment here is particularly striking--Caldecott Medalist Zelinsky's vibrant digital art has bold, rough-hewn textures of scratch block, and dramatic compositions . . . .[A] moving historical tale that encourages taking a stand." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review

★ "Zelinsky has covered every page with bright colors, with optional text that dances through the pictures and occasional vignettes that add detail and movement to the story. This is a strong addition to holiday stories, one that can be reread and rediscovered many times and whose theme of community support and friendship is appropriate year-round." -- School Library Connection , starred review

"[A] quiet, uplifting tale. . . . Readers will feel heartened at children's power to influence others to stand up for justice and defeat vile prejudice. . . . The true meaning of the holiday season shines here." -- Kirkus Reviews

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 1--5--In 1993, the people of Billings, Montana, joined together to fight a series of hate crimes against one of their Jewish neighbors. Wind has simplified this true story with beautiful, poetic text paired with Zelinksy's rich, layered, and stunning illustrations. On Chanukah, Isaac lights the menorah in his front window, making his house glow blue and white in the night, "on a block dressed up in Red and Green." When a rock smashes Isaac's window, his family is afraid to light their menorah. But, "if they didn't, Isaac knew it would be like hiding they were Jewish. That didn't feel right." In a simple act of compassion and solidarity, Isaac's best friend and neighbor, Teresa, affixes a hand-drawn picture of a menorah to her front window, so that "through the paper, the light shone Blue and White." Others followed Teresa's example, and within three weeks menorahs were displayed in more than 10,000 windows so that the entire town glowed "Red and Green and Blue and White." While the source of the violence is never stated or explained, the dark, expressive illustrations depict the scary, emotional scene with sensitivity. A brief author's note explains, "the people in Billings chose to not just stand by and be BYstanders while bad things happened to others. They chose to be UPstanders." For older readers, Janice Cohn's The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate, goes into greater detail. VERDICT A powerful and inspiring example of community, friendship, respect, and love.--Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL

Publisher's Weekly Review

Isaac and his best friend and neighbor Teresa, both of whom appear white, have a lot in common: "They both loved playing in the snow,/ counting down to the holidays,// and thought you couldn't have too many sprinkles on a cookie." But Isaac is a member of the town's Jewish minority--"On a block dressed up in Red and Green,/ one house shone Blue and White"--and his family's menorah window display becomes the target of a hate crime. Wind's lightly fictionalized version of the 1993 incident wherein a community stood up to bigotry, taping pictures of menorahs to their own windows in solidarity, is conveyed with lyrical simplicity. The visual treatment here is particularly striking--Caldecott Medalist Zelinsky's vibrant digital art has the bold, rough-hewn textures of scratch block, and dramatic compositions that recall sweeping cinematography emphasize fraught emotions in this moving historical tale that encourages taking a stand. Back matter features an author's note that provides additional historical context. Ages 4--7. (Oct.)

Horn Book Review

The author begins: "On a block dressed up in Red and Green, one house shone Blue and White." He goes on to introduce a boy named Isaac and his best friend Teresa, who lives across the street. Isaac's family is Jewish and Teresa's is Christian. Both kids love to play in the snow, count down to the holidays, and eat cookies with lots of colorful sprinkles. Then one night an act of antisemitism shatters the idyll: someone throws a rock through Isaac's front window, breaking the menorah. After reporting this vandalism to the police, the family, understandably frightened, nevertheless decides to light the menorah again the next night. "If they didn't, Isaac knew it would be like hiding they were Jewish. That didn't feel right." Teresa makes a drawing of a menorah and hangs it in her window in solidarity. Soon hundreds of friends and neighbors join in to show their support, choosing to put their community first and to be (per the appended note touching on the real-life events that inspired the book) "UPstanders" instead of "BYstanders." Zelinsky's (most recently All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah, rev. 11/18) masterful use of light and shadow captures the celebratory joys of the season as well as the sinister undertones of the story. Several scenes are lit by streetlights or headlights of passing vehicles, and most pages are bathed in the soft glow of holiday lights against a dark blue sky. Everykids Isaac and Teresa are lively and openhearted, the lights of the future, "Stronger Together, Burning Bright." Luann Toth November/December 2021 p.89(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Kids teach a valuable lesson about community spirit. A city block is ablaze with red and green lights for Christmas; one house glows blue and white for Hanukkah. This is where Isaac, a Jewish boy, lives, across the street from best friend Teresa, excitedly preparing for Christmas. They love lighting up their homes in holiday colors. After an antisemitic bigot smashes a window in Isaac's house, Isaac relights the menorah the next night, knowing if his family doesn't, it means hiding their Jewishness, which doesn't "feel right." Artistic Teresa supports Isaac by drawing a menorah, inscribed to her friend, and placing the picture in her window. What occurs subsequently is a remarkable demonstration of community solidarity for Isaac and his family from everyone, including the media. Galvanized into defiant action against hate, thousands of townspeople display menorahs in windows in residences and public buildings. This quiet, uplifting tale is inspired by an incident that occurred in Billings, Montana, in 1993. Readers will feel heartened at children's power to influence others to stand up for justice and defeat vile prejudice. The colorful illustrations, rendered digitally with brushes of the artist's devising, resemble scratch art. Isaac and Teresa are White, and there is some racial diversity among the townspeople; one child is depicted in a wheelchair. An author's note provides information about the actual event. The true meaning of the holiday season shines here. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Every December Isaac's family places a blue-and-white Hanukkah menorah in their front window; neighbor Teresa's family (and others) decorate their windows in red and green for Christmas. One night someone throws a stone through Isaac's window, destroying his display as well as his sense of well-being. Despite fears, his family puts up another menorah the next night and are surprised (and gratified) to see that other neighbors do likewise. Based on a 1993 incident in Billings, Montana, Wind's straightforward account never preaches tolerance, instead allowing the courageous actions of community upstanders (people who stand up against bigotry rather than simply standing by) to set the example. Zelinsky's digital art features cheery, light-filled exteriors set against dark backgrounds; cozy interior scenes of holiday fun; and spreads emphasizing community solidarity with Isaac's family. The cover, a nighttime scene depicting concerned neighbors viewing Isaac's house through the broken glass, is particularly apt. This makes a thoughtful addition to the holiday shelves and a springboard to discussions of prejudice.