Book Descriptions
for Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco
From The Jane Addams Children's Book Award
Drawn together through a shared bond with cats, Mrs. Katz, an older Jewish widow, and Larnel, an African American boy, develop a bond of their own. Through their friendship, they celebrate their differences and seek to understand each other. Mrs. Katz shares Polish Jewish traditions and customs. When she tells Larnel the story of Passover, she relates this meaningful religious practice to slavery experienced by African Americans. This gentle treatment of an intergenerational friendship culminates when a grown-up Larnel and his family offer a kaddish at the passing of his much-loved friend, Mrs. Katz.
The Jane Addams Children’s Book Award: Honoring Peace and Social Justice in Children’s Books Since 1953. © Scarecrow Press, 2013. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
In this special Passover story, Larnel Moore, a young African-American boy, and Mrs. Katz, an elderly Jewish woman, develop an unusual friendship through their mutual concern for an abandoned cat named Tush. Together they explore the common themes of suffering and triumph in each of their cultures.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.