Nana no longer knows how to braid challah for Shabbat, and she no longer dances with her grandchild, Sarah, the way they used to. Distressed, Sarah seeks ways to release Nana from the grip of the Memory Thief. With love and compassion, Sarah tries to lift the curtain on the memories stolen from Nana and help her rediscover the magic of dancing on the stage. After grabbing Nana’s cell phone and playing music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Sarah reaches through the past to reconnect Nana to her days as a ballerina. Nana leaves her present difficulties behind and once again soars in the spotlight as she rediscovers her love for ballet. The book is gracefully infused with Jewish concepts and traditions: Nana tells Sarah that they are “braided together, just like challah,” the two of them dance like the “flickering flames on a Hanukkah menorah,” and when Nana can’t find the right words, Sarah suggests that they’re hiding, “like the afikoman at Passover.” Lewkowicz’s gentle and evocative text shimmers with the language and symbolism of ballet, while Garland’s sweeping strokes and bold colors effectively show the contrast between Nana’s former triumphs and her new reality. Nana and Sarah are light-skinned.
