Tell Me A Story

How do I describe this book, Tell Me a Story: Stories From a Childhood in Old New York by author and artist Bea Gold?  More aptly, how can I do this book justice? It's a striking collection of thirty-six one-page stories accompanied by vividly-colored, impressionistic paintings that illustrate her writing. The paintings are large enough to really see, and the stories are many things--amusing, surprising, touching, believable--but never boring or dull. This lively book is a blend of dazzling paintings and stories, a picture book to savor alone in free moments, or to read out loud, story by story, with a child. The stories are based on the author's memories as the only child of Jewish immigrants growing up in "old" New York,  Brooklyn, in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Seashore

The War at Home

Click on photos to enlarge

I grew up in NY, and although I'm not Jewish, I had many Jewish childhood friends (some of whom I'm still in contact with), so I slipped into this book with ease.  I know many of the places mentioned in the book, and have even taken classes at the Art Students League in NY,  like Bea Gold.  (Unfortunately, I've also had the same experience the author and her friend had on the subway more than once, as mentioned in her story, The First Stop.)  There was a lot in this book that I could relate to and understand. The paintings in the book, along with the stories, were exhibited in art shows in Los Angeles, CA (where the author lives),  in 2008 and 2009.  (I'd love to see her art in person.) This is a sumptuous graphic memoir, a coffee table book of the highest caliber, even if you're not familiar with Jewish customs or NY.  It's just beautiful!

Special thanks to Bea Gold and Bostick Communications for sending me this book.