Oskar and the Eight Blessings

Oskar and the Eight Blessings

Picture book
At this time in America's history when people seeking refuge
from perilous war torn nations is such a hot button issue, Richard and
Tanya Simon's Oskar and the Eight Blessings could not be more timely.
The year was 1938. In the wake of Kristallnacht (a violent mass
assault on Germany and Austria's Jews and their property) Oscar's
parents have sent him alone to America to join his Aunt Esther whom he
has never met. It's the seventh day of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve.
0skar, hungry and ill clad for the cold, has quite a long trek
in a foreign land to get to an address written on paper. His last
words from his father were that people can be good and he must look
for the blessings. As he walks along the strangers he encounters show
the wisdom in his father's words.
These days a lot of haters and prejudiced people are striving to
keep war emperilled folks out of the United States. Oskar and the
Eight Blessings shows readers and families that we don't need to be
rich or influential to help the strangers in our midst. The smallest
of acts help to show that people can be good...
...even here and now.
On a personal note, I had an amazing Saturday!!! I started out at
community garden. We had a really big group of incoming UMaine
freshpeople to help us with some of our big chores like cover cropping
some beds for winter. I had my group to supervise. Then I did some
sign holding on College Ave. There were six of us and we got good
reactions. Then I went to a family dinner with Eugene, all my kids,
and two significant others. That was truly precious!!! Family
dinners are a wonderful tradition.
A great shout out goes out to our amazing student helpers (with best
wishes for wonderful UMaine stays), my fellow sign holders, and my
precious family.
jules hathaway


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