Reviews
May 22, 2025
In addition to the reviews below, Karen and I presented a two minute description of The Light Keeper to the Jewish Authors Book Council to be used to promote Jewish literature connecting Jewish Authors with Jewish Communities for book tours, programs and events.
Jewish Book Council
Reviewed by Michal Hoschander Malen
April 28, 2025
This story is set in a shtetl in Europe, but its themes — bravery, overcoming fears, family responsibility, and the importance of community — are universal.
Ten-year-old Shmuel wants to help his family, who are poor and depend on one another to pitch in order to make ends meet. However, he is only an inexperienced boy and no one is willing to hire him for any kind of work. When electrical lines are introduced into the village, Shmuel watches with interest as new lights are installed in the town square. He helps the electricians with the installation and pays close attention to what they are doing. He learns much from them as he observes and assists.
In time, the wires fray and the bulbs burn out. Shmuel is the only person in the village who watched the installation so he knows how to do the needed repairs but his debilitating fear of heights makes it difficult for him to scale the tall poles in order to address the problems. Nevertheless, Shmuel realizes that the solution to the village’s electrical issue is up to him. He overcomes his fear, learns to climb to the necessary height, and saves the day. He earns badly needed money as well as the respect and assistance of the entire town. Shmuel is a hero who now has a useful skill with which he can help himself and others.
Atmospheric illustrations with deep colors as well as earth tones accompany the text and add depth to a fine reading experience. An author’s note by Sheila Baslaw educates readers about the European Jewish shtetls and explains that Shmuel’s story is based on her father’s real-life experiences.
Michal Hoschander Malen is the editor of Jewish Book Council’s young adult and children’s book reviews. A former librarian, she has lectured on topics relating to literacy, run book clubs, and loves to read aloud to her grandchildren.
School Library Journal
Reviewed by Benjamin Ludwig
December 6, 2024
In the early 1900s, a family living in a shtetl, or Jewish village, in Russia, suffers from poverty and hunger. Things come to a head quickly when the mother announces, “We can’t go on like this.” Schmuel, the main character, goes to the village square to fetch water and observes several men installing electric lights—something the village has never experienced. Schmuel speaks with the men and watches them, ultimately learning how the lights work. By the end of the story, Schmuel is employed by the village to fix wiring and to replace burned-out lightbulbs, thus helping his family make ends meet. The art is warm and exudes a sense of comfort and wholesomeness. Varying perspectives and angles add an element of visual excitement. In an emotional author’s note, Baslaw reveals that her father, also born in a shtetl and named Schmuel, became a light keeper, and was the inspiration for the story. It’s a journey that is sure to inspire and encourage readers, in a setting that is usually associated with the more negative context of the pogroms.
VERDICT: A welcome tale about persistence and optimism in the face of hardship.
Booklist
Reviewed by Miriam Aronin
October 1, 2024
This inspiring story, based on an incident in the family history of co-author Sheila Baslaw, offers a unique view of a small, Jewish, East European town—a shtetl. Though the book draws on the typical motifs of poverty and hard work, it also offers a telling glimpse of modernity, thereby avoiding a portrait of the shtetl as a static place bound only by tradition. In the story, a fascinated young boy, named Shmuel, watches workers install an electric light in the town square. When the workers depart, they leave their extra supplies with Shmuel, the person in town who best understands the working of the electric light. After a storm, the rabbi calls upon Shmuel to bravely climb the lamppost, replace the bulb, and make repairs. For his brave work and understanding, he receives much-needed money to help his family, as well as gifts from the grateful townsfolk. Priestley’s gentle illustrations evoke both the traditional shtetl lifestyle and the wonders of electric light. A luminous tale!