As Ms. Cohen explains in her acknowledgment at the end, this is an adaptation of I.L. Peretz's "Oih Nisht Noch Hecher" for modern American children; she notes that Peretz himself must have changed the stories he heard. ( )

Adapted from a tale first recorded by the Yiddish-language author I.L. Peretz, Even Higher is the story of the Ukrainian city of Nemirov's virtuous rabbi, and a doubting Litvak (Lithuanian) stranger who is won over to a belief in his holiness. When the Litvak first arrives in Nemirov, he scoffs at the townspeople's tales of their rabbi, and how he ascends to heaven during the New Year season, to speak with God himself. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, the Litvak follows the rabbi during one of his regular "disappearances," and learns that there is more than one way of being holy, and of ascending as high - or even higher - than heaven...

I enjoyed this story, which has been adapted to make it more accessible to American children - the author is explicit about her intention to do this, in her brief afterword, and I appreciated her frankness - beginning with a reference to Missourians, and their reputed inability to take anything on faith (hence the fact that they are the "Show Me" state). I'm not sure that I understood the concept of being "higher" than heaven, but I did like the message here, that no one is too erudite or holy to get his or her hands dirty with honest work, especially when that work is for the benefit of others. I also appreciated the illustrations by Anatoly Ivanov, whose work I have encountered before, in a picture-book presentation of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. All in all, this was an engaging retelling, one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts, particularly those with an interest in the Jewish traditions of eastern Europe. ( )