Michael’s grandfather has a secret—a secret that’s almost too strange to share . . .
When Michael moves to Israel, he leaves loneliness behind and steps into the light of his grandfather’s magic. Like a sorcerer’s apprentice, Michael learns how to blur the lines between dreams and reality when his grandfather hands down the most precious of gifts—a gift that allows Michael passage into his grandfather’s dreams.
Written with a quiet simplicity that wins the reader over at once Uri Orlev writes in a style so sure and yet so unassuming that it is certain to linger in reader’s minds long after turning the last page.
About the Author
Hillel Halkin
An author, journalist, and internationally reknowned, awarding-winning translator, Hillel Halkin has translated several novels from Hebrew into English.
Uri Orlev
Uri Orlev was born in Warsaw in 1931. In 1996, Uri Orlev received the the highest international recognition given to an author of children’s books. He now lives in Jerusalem.
Excerpts
Reviews
"It's a gentle fable of community connection; a penetrating look at the darker sides latent in people and the mutability of different kinds of love; and a heart-tugging tale about passing the generational torch from grandfather to grandson. With a clean sense that less is more, Orlev has crafted a sweetly mysterious and quietly moving read."--Booklist, starred review
"Orlev (Run, Boy, Run) blurs the edges of dream and reality in this story about Michael, a friendless child of self-absorbed parents, who "[doesn't] like sports or computer games," preferring the company of his Plasticine figures and the old men in his neighborhood. When his family moves to Israel, Mikha'el (as he's known there) forges a strong bond with his ailing grandfather, who takes him into his dreams...A strange tale, but a diverting escape, perhaps, to those also at odds with the really real world."--Publishers Weekly