The Magician: An Adaptation from the Yiddish of I. L. Peretz

by Uri Shulevitz

An old couple, with neither food nor candles to celebrate Passover, receive a mysterious visitor who supplies everything they need.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Magic, Judaism, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Uri Shulevitz was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1969 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, an Eastern European fairy tale retold by Arthur Ransome in 1916.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poor couple have nothing with which to celebrate the holiday of Passover in this atmospheric picture-book adaptation of a story from the late 19th/early 20th-century Yiddish-language author, I.L. Peretz. Then a mysterious magician comes to their village, and after performing some extraordinary tricks in the public square, seeks them out, asking to be their guest. Confiding that they have nothing, the couple is assured that their guest has everything necessary to celebrate the holiday, and they watch as he conjures all of the comfort and food they could dream of. This however, leaves them with a dilemma: should they trust this stranger's magic...?

We owned a copy of The Magician when I was a child, and I used to pore over it, endlessly fascinated by its simply told but intensely engrossing tale of magic and miracles, and its finely detailed etching-style artwork. There was always something just a little bit creepy about the eponymous magician, even if he turned out to be the Prophet Elijah - a force of good, rather than evil. Passover begins tonight at sundown, so I picked up this book today for a reread - the first in years - and found it every bit as enchanting and spooky as I remember. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for magical Passover stories, or for tales set in the Eastern European Jewish shtetls of the past.

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magician's Visit by Isaac Leib Peretz is a unique story with one of the most beautiful sets of illustrations I have ever seen.

Passover is occurring, and as people walk by they see a Magician! He's hard to miss, honestly. He had magical abilities no one had ever seen before, it was mind boggling and incredible! A poor couple, Rebecca and Jonah, meet the Magician. He comes to help the couple, and brings some truly magnificent events in the process.

I can easily seeing this become a classic Passover read, especially with the gorgeous illustrations!

Four out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, Pen & Sword, and Green Bean Books for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

[Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous book in every way, this will quickly become a Passover classic. For those who aren’t Jewish, it will make a good resource for teaching children about another religion and culture. I’m looking forward to sharing it with the children in my life next year.

This unbiased review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really impressive book, that will manage to find a home in schools and educational centres, and also be a volume gifted throughout the Jewish communities of the world. While a village is amazed by the arrival of a wondrous magician at the start of Passover, a down-on-their-luck couple cannot think of celebrating with their own Seder meal, until a strange visitor offers a solution – but is it a real answer to their problems, or just an illusion? I can't say I know anything of the original, pre-WWI telling of this story, but the text here in this adaptation is perfectly fine for a full family audience. And the visuals are just incredible – pretty much all just pastel pinks and blues, warping into a tiny tint of other colours very sparingly, and conveying the magic of the whole scenario in wonderful, wondrous ways. Everything is perfectly presented, and perfectly respectful of the rituals of the Seder, the people who might not have afforded it from no fault of their own, and the history of the entire festival of Passover. I find this to be a book that's just impossible to quibble over.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review will be live on my blog on 28th February 2021 - publication day!

I thought that this book was really, really lovely and each page was a delight. It was a magical read in so many ways!

The images in the book suit the story perfectly and it is a story that I loved reading with my daughter. It has a lovely flow to it and it is very well written too.

I thought that the characters were lovely and the message of belief was great and this is just the perfect book to read and share with a loved one – it had a great moral to the story.

It is 5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended!

[Catherine Craig (Angelic Light) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very special children's book, which is spiritual and magical. It has really amazing artwork and a beautiful story. The story is about Jonah and Rebecca who have no money to buy the items and food they need to celebrate passover. On Seder night a magician comes to help them celebrate and he brings them all that they need. They have a magical time! I loved this book and I highly recommend it,

Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never know the Jews traditions, and now I do. Like the Christians who celebrated Passover, the Jews do too, named The Seder. This is a truly heartwarming story about sharing and blessings. Regardless your religion, this is one interesting book to learn about how others celebrated their life.

Moreover, what amazed me are the pretty illustrations drawn with 3 main colors. Usually the pretty ones are the one with multicolored, but this one did surprised me.

[Joni Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book while discussing the different religions and certain holidays with my son. This was a wonderful, easily processed and understood book about Passover. The illustrations are very pretty and add much to the story.

[Kati Zuber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The magician is just a simple and cute story that I really enjoyed. A short read, I felt like the magician's character, as well as the children, were very theatrical and I really enjoyed that.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story- its an adaptation of a folktale, though this is the first time I read/heard it. The illustrations were breathtaking. It looks like it was done with color pencils, but the details and shading made them amazing.

[Jennifer]

I love this children's book about Passover

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:
magical book about Elijah the prophet showing up at a poor family's house on passover -- a nicely illustrated tale