The Kugel Valley Klezmer Band

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Fiddler on the Roof meets Anne of Green Gables in this intriguing tale
about a determined young girl named Shira who wants to play Yiddish
violin in turn-of-the-century Nova Scotia. Shira’s father has the best
klezmer band in the Maritimes. The band plays at all the important
weddings, banquets, bar mitzvahs, and Hanukkah celebrations in town.
Shira dreams of playing the fiddle, but her father insists that no
10-year-old girl has ever played in a klezmer band, especially a girl
who has never had a music lesson. Shira secretly acquires a toy fiddle
and practises as often as she can. Her fiddle playing quickly improves.
Then one frosty Hanukkah eve, the klezmer band is booked to play the
biggest dance in town, but Yossi, the band’s fiddler, is sick. This is
Shira’s big chance, but she cannot decide whether to step forward or
not.

This book is a gentle reminder that Nova Scotia boasts cultural icons
beyond kilts and lobster pots. Joan Betty Stuchner’s elegant prose
ripples with hope and humor. Richard Row’s handsome oil illustrations
seem ready to get up and dance themselves. The book’s quality propels
it beyond the confines of a “Jewish holiday story” and makes it a
tale for all seasons and all Canadians. Highly recommended.