Alte Zachen / Old Things - by Ziggy Hanaor (Hardcover)

About the Book

This is an intergenerational graphic novel that follows 11-year-old Benji and his elderly grandmother, Bubbe Rosa, as they traverse Brooklyn and Manhattan, gathering the ingredients for a Friday night dinner. Bubbe's relationship with the city is complex - nothing is quite as she remembered it and she feels alienated and angry at the world around her. Benji, on the other hand, looks at the world, and his grandmother, with clear-eyed acceptance. As they wander the city, we catch glimpses of Bubbe's childhood in Germany, her young adulthood in 1950s Brooklyn, and her relationships; first with a baker called Gershon, and later with successful Joe, Benji's grandfather. Gradually we piece together snippets of Bubbe's life, gaining an insight to some of the things that have formed her cantankerous personality. The journey culminates on the Lower East Side in a moving reunion between Rosa and Gershon, her first love. As the sun sets, Benji and his Bubbe walk home over the Williamsburg Bridge to make dinner. This is a powerful, affecting and deceptively simple story of Jewish identity, of generational divides, of the surmountability of difference and of a restless city and its inhabitants.

Book Synopsis

BENJAMIN PHILLIPS FOR ALTE ZACHEN: WINNER OF THE V&A ILLUSTRATION FOR CHILDREN AWARD & THE MOIRA GEMMILL ILLUSTRATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024

SHORTLISTED FOR THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR ILLUSTRATION 2023

A beautifully illustrated and presented intergenerational graphic novel that follows 11-year-old Benji and his elderly grandmother, Bubbe Rosa, as they traverse Brooklyn and Manhattan, gathering the ingredients for a Friday night dinner.

Bubbe's relationship with the city is complex - nothing is quite as she remembered it and she feels alienated and angry at the world around her. Benji, on the other hand, looks at the world, and his grandmother, with clear-eyed acceptance. As they wander the city, we catch glimpses of Bubbe's childhood in Germany, her young adulthood in 1950s Brooklyn, and her relationships; first with a baker called Gershon, and later with successful Joe, Benji's grandfather. Gradually we piece together snippets of Bubbe's life, gaining an insight to some of the things that have formed her cantankerous personality. The journey culminates on the Lower East Side in a moving reunion between Rosa and Gershon, her first love. As the sun sets, Benji and his Bubbe walk home over the Williamsburg Bridge to make dinner.

This is a powerful, affecting and deceptively simple story of Jewish identity, of generational divides, of the surmountability of difference and of a restless city and its inhabitants.

Review Quotes

''To outsiders, Benji's Bubbe is just a crabby old lady. To the boy, and eventually to us, she becomes a vulnerable figure deserving of great tenderness. "Alte Zachen" is less ambitious and searing than Art Spiegelman's "Maus," but like that graphic novel it expands our understanding of the gulf that can exist between generations, particularly those divided by catastrophe." - Wall Street Journal

''Softly lined watercolor art portrays a moving narrative... even as BenjI and Bubbe's worldviews clash, the Yiddish-peppered telling renders a familial bond that is at once mercurial and unshakable." - Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Taking a walk with Rosa and Benji just might change how readers see the world and everyone's place in it. Highly recommended for graphic novel collections." - School Library Journal Starred Review *Best Children's Books of 2022 selection*

"The graphic novel format brilliantly allows us to see Bubbe in both her present and her past, allowing the reader to better understand her in all her cranky, opinionated grandeur, along with her sweet, caring grandson, Benji. A wonderful intergenerational story about the value of old things." - Marissa Moss, Children's Book Author & Illustrator

"Phillips's del-i-cate col-ors and fine details illus-trate the rich-ness of city life. Two sis-ters argu-ing on a train, a cou-ple danc-ing togeth-er, and immi-grants' first view of the Stat-ue of Lib-er-ty -- these are all images that Bubbe con-jures while look-ing back over the years. In one full-col-or scene that inte-grates past and present, she comes to terms with the inevitabil-i-ty of change. As the book ends, with grand-moth-er and grand-son against a New York City sky-line, new-ness does not seem so threat-en-ing, after all." - Jewish Book Council

''Compelling and evocative, Alte Zachen is an eloquent intergenerational story that will resonate with and enlighten readers of all ages." - Celebrate Picture Books

''A tour de force. On behalf of all the #Bubbes and #Benjis thank you @cicadabooks for such a joyful and redemptive picture book.'' - Youth Libraries Group, UK

''Exploring themes of migration, alienation, loss, perception and identity, this is both an important book and a window into our children's futures and our parents' pasts." - School Reading List, UK

''For a first graphic novel, Alte Zachen is a true success. This is award-winning storytelling.'' - Books for Keeps, UK

About the Author

Ziggy Hanaor is a publisher and writer. She is the author of Alex and Alex, Fly Flies and the Pocket Chaotic. This is her first graphic novel.

Benjamin Phillips won the V&A Illustration for Children Award 2024 and the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year Award 2024 for Alte Zachen. Benjamin works in various mediums, straddling the disciplines of illustration and fine art. From his studio in Hastings, he finds inspiration in human interaction, the humour and turmoil of everyday life and the joy of repetition. His clients include New York Times, Penguin Random House, Ebury Press and the British Council.