Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Oct. 1, 1996 (Vol. 93, No. 3))
This is a multi-book review: See also the title The Golem. Drawing on Jewish legends, two very different versions tell the story of the giant monster of sixteenth-century Prague, created by the holy Rabbi Loew from the clay of the river to help protect his people in the ghetto against racist persecution. Rogasky tells it in 13 expansive chapters, with a colloquial warmth and a Yiddish idiom ("Why? Who knows why?") that makes you read it aloud. There's terror when the Poles come after the Jews, especially when they accuse the Jews of killing children to drink the blood, a lie used for centuries to fuel anti-Semitism. In a foreshadowing of the Holocaust, the evil priest Thaddeus, being led away to prison, curses the Jews ("I will return and you will not recognize me . . . I will tell the same lies . . . You will burn, burn as if in the ovens of hell"); a picture of the gates of Auschwitz ends the chapter. Some of the plotting and counterplotting gets convoluted. But the terror is framed by the rabbi's wise control and by uproarious episodes of domestic farce when the golem takes his household orders literally. Hyman's illustrations in shades of brown and blue, some tall and full-page, some small and unframed, reveal the ordinary and the mysterious in the ghetto community. From the rabbi in his library among his piles of books to the golem rampaging through the streets of Prague, there is a depth of perspective, an expressive sense of character, and an exquisite detail of line. Both author and illustrator provide endnotes about sources in Jewish mysticism and history. Wisniewski's large picture-book version is stark and terrifying. His extraordinary cut-paper collages show and tell the shape-shifting and changing perspectives that are the essence of the story. Chanting spells from the holy books of the Cabala, the rabbi creates the giant, whose task is to protect the Jews and catch those planting false evidence of the Blood Lie. When the mob storms the gates of the ghetto, the golem is a huge Frankenstein monster who smashes the people and their weapons. But Wisniewski adds an element of melancholy to the creature (just as Mary Shelley did). This golem can talk, and when his work is done, he begs to be allowed to go on living. The pictures of the desperate giant trying to prevent his hands and face from dissolving are scenes of horror and sorrow. Wisniewski ends with a long, detailed background note about the religious roots and folklore and about the history of Jewish persecution through the ages. Category: Middle Readers. 1996, Clarion, $15.95. Gr. 3-6.

Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
The layered cut paper images practically leap off the pages; they seem so real you want to touch them in this retelling of a Jewish legend. There have been numerous versions published, most recently one by Mark Powdell entitled Golem, A Giant Made of Mud and a reissue in paper of The Golem by Isaac Bashevis Singer with illustrations by Uri Shulevitz. None has the visual impact that Wisniewski offers, nor are they able to make the story truly accessible to young readers as he does. In this retelling, Rabbi Loew of Prague creates the mud monster to protect his people, but the Rabbi knows that Golem, in spite of his growth toward humanness, must cease to exist. He rests, "But many say he could awaken. Perhaps when the desperate need for justice is united with holy purpose..." A dramatic tale, well told and beautifully illustrated. Recipient of the 1997 Caldecott medal. 1996, Clarion, $15.95. Ages 4 up.

Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
When Wisniewski's book won the 1997 Caldecott, I was surprised because the story is one that requires a degree of maturity to fully understand. The Jewish legend tells of the Golem, a giant brought to life from clay to save the Jews from persecution in 1580 Prague. Author-illustrator David Wisniewski has long amazed the children's book world with his intricate paper cuts. His illustrations are a match and give eloquent expression to the mystery and wonder of a creature beyond human imagining who can save a downtrodden people. It is amazing how the elaborate paper art show the story's moods. There's the blazing glory of magical creation, the dark rage, the golden life of royalty, and the darkness of Golem's destruction. The nuances Wisniewski achieves with his paper cuts are incredible--we watch flesh return to clay before our eyes or see from vantage points that make the Golem seem like a Messiah and sometimes monstrous. 1996, Clarion, $15.95. Ages 9 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1996)
The much honored cut-paper master (Sundiata, 1992, etc.) turns his attention to a retelling of the story of the Golem, created by a chief rabbi, Judah Loew, to defend the Jews against the "Blood Lie" (that Jews were mixing the blood of Christian children with the flour and water of matzoh) of 16th-century Prague. Like Rogasky's book (see review, above), Wisniewski's exposes the slander that was embraced and widely promulgated during the Holocaust years. Loew's Golem--a sort of simple yet powerful giant made of clay with the Hebrew word emet (truth) on his forehead--is named Joseph and charged to "guard the ghetto at night and catch those planting false evidence of the Blood Lie . . . and bring them unharmed to the authorities." In Wisniewski's story, the Golem turns back the rampaging masses who want to destroy the Jews of Prague and is eventually returned, to the clay from which he sprang. The cut-paper collages are exquisitely produced and exceedingly dramatic. There is menace and majesty in Wisniewski's use of color, and he finds atmosphere and terror in a scissor's stroke. A fact-filled final note concludes this mesmerizing book. 1996, Clarion, $15.95. Starred Review. © 1996 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Betsy Hearne (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 1996 (Vol. 50, No. 1))
This is a multibook review. Heir of mythical monsters and predecessor of literary monsters, the Golem (a Hebrew word for something not fully formed, such as an embryo-or Adam, before God gave him a soul) is a legendary creature born of Jewish mysticism and Jewish persecution. Although a number of golems were mentioned in medieval Jewish lore, the Golem in these two books is created by Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel in the late sixteenth century to protect the Jews of Prague from violence resulting from false reports of ritual blood sacrifice. Rogasky's book, illustrated with Hyman's darkly graceful evocations of a haunting ghetto setting and a Frankensteinian giant, features thirteen chapters narrating episodes from the Golem's creation to his destruction. The monster who serves his rabbinical master and saves his people with robotic strength is always in danger of acquiring a will of his own or getting out of control because his master forgets to give him specific orders. Ultimately the Golem escalates violence rather than curbing it, and the Rabbi must turn him back to clay. The text in this version features short, easy-to-read sentences which nevertheless reflect a cadence of Yiddish phraseology. By contrast, Wisniewski's version, although it is a picture book, has a text in many ways more complex and heavily descriptive-definitely for a readaloud audience on the sophisticated side. His dramatic paper cuttings, similar in effect to The Warrior and the Wise Man (BCCB 7/89) with its demonic forces and fiery battles, seem to involve fewer traditional graphic motifs than the Tlingit or Mayan tales he has illustrated. Nevertheless, this art has a theatrical formality that does capture the massive stiffness of the Golem and conveys the force of monumental conflict. Each book, Rogasky's and Wisniewski's, features an extensive background note and serves a different audience. R--Recommended. Reviewed from galleys (c) Copyright 1996, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1996, Clarion, [32p], $15.95. Ages 7-10 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1996)
In Prague in 1580, a time when Jews are being attacked mercilessly, Rabbi Loew decides that in order to protect his people he must invoke the Golem, a giant made of clay. The monumental story of good and evil -- and the gray areas in between -- receives a dramatic presentation through Wisniewski's precisely cut colored paper collage. A note provides information about the legend and Jewish history. Category: Nonfiction. 1996, Clarion, 32pp.. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.