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 18th 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)
