Cutlass in the Snow by Elizabeth Shub

Cutlass in the Snow - Elizabeth Shub

A book review by Sandy Hall

“There are events so strange or unlikely that in time people stop believing that they really happened. Over the years they are told by parents to children, by neighbors to friends, until the truth is slowly forgotten. They become stories, local legends…..” This is that kind of story.

When a young boy Sam and his grandpa sailed across Great South Bay to Fire Island which is south of Long Island, NY, one day in the winter of 1797, they were just searching for holly to use to decorate their home for Christmas. Instead, what they found was something far more unbelievable and amazing, so much so, that in time people stopped believing.

Today Fire Island is a beach-lover’s wonder land. Beautiful sand beaches stretch across the south shore of this narrow island. A historic lighthouse is worth the walk to see, and lovely homes have also been built here in places. Some of my favorite memories of my husband are when we would pick up a sandwich at a local shop and drive 10 minutes to Fire Island. We sat along the beach and enjoyed the sound of the waves, ate our meal, and then walked and talked along the water’s edge. Even in winter, some days were warm enough for this little get-away!

But in the late 18^th century, Fire Island was a wild, empty place where Long Island locals would go to hunt raccoons. Some said that pirates came here, but grandpa had never seen them. In November of 1797, the weather turned warm so grandpa decided to take his grandson to Fire Island to collect holly for their Christmas décor. They took provisions for lunch and sailed then in their small boat across the Great South Bay, a trip of about 2 hours. Once there, they began to explore the island, climbing the dunes. Grandpa wanted to show Sam the great Atlantic Ocean on the other side. After collecting the holly branches, it started to snow. They decided to spend the night on their boat and had prepared for this possibility.

During the night, Sam awoke and saw lights on the island. Lights that were moving. What were they? WHO was there? In the morning, they discovered something amazing!

I’ll leave you there. This well-told story is a well-known legend of the Long Island area. “Grandpa’s story, and how the long-lost truth came to light, is still told in the Campbell family. Descendants of Grandpa still live in the old farmhouse” and a special item is passed down from generation to generation to the eldest Campbell boy on his tenth birthday.

This book is only 46 pages long and is written on a middle elementary reading level; however, it is a delightful story to read aloud to the entire family.

“Editor and translator Elizabeth “Libby” Shub was born in Vilno, Poland, the daughter of Samuel and Bessie Charney. In 1919, her family moved to the United States, where they settled in New York and her father, writing as Shmuel Niger, worked as a literary critic for the Yiddish newspaper The Day. Because her parents ran a literary salon in their home, Shub was exposed to Yiddish literature and writers from an early age. She met author Isaac Bashevi Singer when her father invited him to dinner at their house soon after Singer’s arrival in the United States in 1935, and they developed a lasting friendship. In 1965….Elizabeth began working as a reader in the children’s department at Harper & Row Publishers and soon became an associate editor there. She later worked at Charles Scribner’s Sons (1966-1968) and Macmillan Publishing Company (1968-75), also as an associate editor of children’s books. She became senior editor at Greenwillow Books in 1975 and retired from that position in 1996.

“It was Shub who suggested to Singer that he write a children’s book. He agreed to write one if she would translate it from Yiddish to English: the result to Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories (1966), which won a Newbery Honor Book award, as did another collaboration, When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories (1968)….In addition to works by Singer, Shub translated other folk tales and children’s stories. Her translations of Theodor Fontane’s Sir Ribbeck of Ribbeck of Havelland and About Wise Men and Simpletons: Twelve Tales from Grimm won American Library Association Notable Book awards in 1969 and 1971. Shub also wrote several original books for children, including The White Stallion (1982), She died in New York City on June 18, 2004, at the age of 89.” (Source: https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00353/hrc-00353.html)

The illustrator Rachel Isadora was once a professional ballerina and later in life began to devote time to full-time writing, illustrating and painting. She wrote and illustrated the Caldecott Honor book Ben’s Trumpet. She also illustrated Shub’s books The White Stallion and Seeing is Believing.  The Shub-Isadora author/illustrator team worked well together!

For more information about Isadora and a lengthy list of the books she authored and illustrated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Isadora

Books to further advance your studies:

The Real Book about Treasure Hunting – Hal Burton

The Pirate Book – Mickie Davidson

Pirates: Robbers of the High Seas – Gail Gibbons

The Golden Book of Buccaneers – John Gilbert

Pirates and Privateers – Edith McCall, Frontiers of America series

Pirate Chase – Earl Schenck Miers

Famous Pirates of the New World – A.B.C. Whipple, Landmark

Picture Book of New York – Bernadine Bailey

The Real Book about Gold – Harold Coy

The Story Book of Gold – Maud and Miska Petersham

Plants of Christmas – Hal Borland

Craft of Sail: A Primer of Sailing – Jan Adkins

Sailing with the Wind – Thomas Locker

Along the Seashore – Margaret Waring Buck

The Seashore Book – E. Smith Boyd

Moving Hills of Sand – Julian May

Shifting Sands: The Story of Sand Dunes – Ramona Mahur

Seashells of North America – R. Tucker Abbott

The First Book of Seashells – Betty Cavanna

The Junior Science Book of Seashells – Sam & Beryl Epstein

A First Look at Animals with Horns – Millicent Selsam

Long Spikes – Jim Arnosky

Here Come the Deer – Alice Goudey

Here Come the Cottontails – Alice Goudey

Rabbits, Rabbits and More Rabbits – Gail Gibbons

Cottontail Rabbit – Elizabeth & Charles Schwartz

Ringtail – Alice Crew Gall

Rascally Ringtails – J.M. Roever

Here Come the Raccoons – Alice Goudey

Atlantic Shore: Human and Natural History from Long Island to Labrador – John Hay

(All rights reserved. Please request permission before copying or publishing. 2019. Sandy Hall)