The Never-Ending Greenness

by Neil Waldman

As war approaches the ancient European city of Vilna, a young boy and his family escape to Israel, where, in the hope of a bright new future, he begins to plant seedlings in the barren hills near his home, in a story that chonicles the Israeli tree-planting holiday of Tu b'Shvat.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1997

About the author

Neil Waldman's paintings and prints are included in many prestigious collections around the world. His oils, acrylics and watercolors may be seen in the capital buildings of more than a dozen nations, and in numerous major corporations.

.....His works have garnered many awards and honours. Notable among these is a gold medal from the United Nations in a closed international competition in which Waldman was chosen to represent the United States. The world body selected his entry as the official poster for the International Year of Peace. Today it hangs in the halls of the U. N. General Assembly.

.....Waldman was commissioned by the American Brands Corporation to paint the portraits of twenty famous Americans for their centennial exhibition "The American Achievers". This collection traveled to museums, galleries and exhibit halls around the country, and was eventually published in a book of the same name. Waldman has designed postage stamps for thirteen nations, written and illustrated more than fifty books for young people, and won the Christopher Award, the National Jewish Book Award, the Parents Choice Award, the American Library Association Notable Award, and a host of others. In addition, he has illustrated the covers of seven Newbery Award winners.

.....In the Summer of 2006, Waldman created the Fred Dolan Art Academy in the Bronx, along with his long-time friend, Marc Broxmeyer. The Academy's purpose is to provide motivated Bronx teenagers with the skills necessary in the development of portfolios for entry into art college. To date, twenty-one students have graduated from the academy, all twenty-one going on to college with scholarships.

Reviews

[Hatman86 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great illustrator, Neil Waldman, was found today as I was browsing the books on our UOI cart.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am heading to Israel 🇮🇱 in a few months and wanted to get some books the library kids can read while I am gone. I enjoyed this read.

[Rebecca Owen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is one from the Israeli side and heavily propagandized. At one point it even held the subtitle of “We Made Israel Bloom.” It begins with a little boy from Vilna, a beautiful village filled with trees until the Nazis came and turned it to mud and brick. His family escaped the ghetto and, when the war was over, went to Israel. When there, he begins creating his own grove of trees after having a dream of a forest surrounding his house. There is no mention upon the family’s arrival of any natives to the land, making it seem as though no one was living there. It is just a barren land where there was war, though there’s no clarification to this war. When his father returns home from fighting, he tells him that thousands of years ago (i.e. when the Jews were there originally) the land was filled with forests, but that conquerors had “stolen from the land” (Waldman 22). The implication throughout is that those who have been living there were wasting the land, and only they can bring it back to life. Though not good to present by itself, it would make a good example of propaganda literature, especially if paired with something dealing with such literature. This book is best for middle school age readers, or for younger readers if read out loud, as the text is somewhat long and the print relatively small.

[Whole And · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this story does not sugar coat the extreme war conditions a boy and his family experienced in Lithuania, there is a rewarding ending. While their father was forced to join the army, the rest of the family escaped the war conditions by hiding and by boat ended up in Israel. While in Israel, the boy and his mother began saving all the saplings, one by one, by caring for them and ensuring their growth, listening to a dream the boy had to carry on his work, Israel bloomed in green. Happily, the father also returned and working together on their cultivation, others began to do the same creating a miraculous paradise of forest and life.

[Stepan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book follows a Jewish boy from his childhood in pre-WWII Europe, though his stay in the Ghetto and subsequent life in Israel.

The early years pass fairly quickly and my 4 year old didn't pick up much on the darkness of the Holocaust -- though the book could serve as a good and gentle introduction to the topic.