Monsters & Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books

This exhibition, focused primarily on 20th century American picture book art is, in effect, a marriage of purpose and perspective between two cultural institutions, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and The Skirball Cultural Center. Commencing with medieval illuminated Passover Haggadot, the exhibition highlights miraculous themes from biblical stories, imaginary monsters such as dybbuks and golems and tales of the shtetl, the humble Jewish village once found in Eastern Europe. As well as featuring reproductions of the artwork in the exhibit, this catalog contains three essays: "The Jewish Picture Book: A Personal Appraisal" by Ilan Stavans, "The Story Within the Story" by Neal Sokol, and "Friend or Foe? Monsters in Jewish Picture Books" by Tal Gozani.