Author:
David Wisniewski

Number of pages:
31

Does the book have pictures?
Yes

What age group is this book written for?
Elementary School

Category:
Fiction

Brief summary:
This story is illustrated with really detailed cut-paper collages, and won the 1997 Caldecott Medal, which is awarded annually to the most distinguished American picture book for children.

A rabbi creates a clay giant to protect the Jewish people of 16th century Prague from persecution. He is a child-like innocent creature, much like Frankenstein (only in this version of the story Golem can speak.) Golem looks after his people at night and brings would-be tormentors to the authorities without harming them. But he eventually loses control when the city mob storms the gates of the ghetto that Jewish people have to live in, and after he saves the neighborhood, he must return to the earth from which he was made. There are historical notes at the end of the story, to explain how the legend was created and why much Jewish folklore is based on persecution of that culture through the ages.