Announcing Levi’s Gift

This month sees the release of my 20th picture book, Levi’s Gift, which captures the beginning of a cross-generational, cross-cultural friendship between an old man and a young girl. It’s also about the healing power of music.

I’ve always had a soft spot for stories about friendships between children and old people, and although I’ve never played any musical instrument, stories involving music and especially violins have often moved me too.

So it’s no surprise that when I saw the documentary Joe’s Violin, it inspired me to write. I created two characters, Levi and Gabriela, who resemble in some ways Joseph Feingold and Brianna Perez, who are featured in the film, and wrote a story from the points of view of both Levi and Gabriela.

Like many of my manuscripts, it was turned down by more than one publisher before it occurred to me that it might find a home with Nimbus Publishing, located in Nova Scotia where fiddle music is much appreciated. Nimbus liked the story but wondered if I’d be willing to rewrite it, limiting it to Levi’s point of view.

I loved how the approach Nimbus suggested simplified the story, thereby sharpening its emotional impact. Thank you, Whitney Moran, for the suggestion and thank you, Claire Bennet, for helping me further fine-tune the text!

Thanks also to Ellie Arscott for so capably capturing in her illustrations what the violin meant to each of the characters!

Where Brianna Perez is now, I don’t know. I hope she has succeeded in her dream of becoming a music teacher. Joseph Feingold, I have learned, died of pneumonia and COVID in 2020. I hope he would have been pleased to know that his generous spirit lives on in Levi.