Just in time for Hanukkah, comes a century-old-tale of a young Jewish boy’s courage to take on an adult’s responsibilities as chief light keeper in his Russian shtetl. It’s the true story of Ottawa’s Samuel Saslove, who stepped up to keep his community's brand new electric street lights working, at the tender age of ten. Saslove arrived in Canada in the 1920s and while he didn’t divulge much about his experiences growing up in “the old country”, his daughter, Sheila Baslaw, preserved those memories for decades. Now, at 92, Baslaw has found a whole new audience for her father’s inspiring tale of bravery and resilience. Her debut children’s book “The Light Keeper”, co-written with Karen Levine of “Hana’s Suitcase” fame, has just been published by Second Story Press and is already a Heather’s Pick at Indigo. While Baslaw’s father did have to overcome antisemitism–and the persecution of Jews in Czarist Russia that sparked mass emigration to this country in the 1900s–her book’s message deliberately highlights the universal challenges many of her young readers could face. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, Sheila Baslaw joins along with her co-author to explain why it’s never too late to learn a new skill.

What we talked about:

Learn more and buy 'The Light Keeper' book at Second Story Press.
Read more about Hana’s Suitcase, the true story of the Brady family, on The CJN Daily.
Hear more stories about the author’s family in her oral history with the Ottawa Jewish Archives from 2001.

Credits

Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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This Hanukkah, a new children’s book shares the true story of a young boy who kept the light on in his shtetl