One of the lesser-known stories of Jewish immigrants in America is that they were among the foremost carvers of wooden carousel horses. This picture book portrays in lively words and illustrations the story of one of them, a woodcarver named Feivel, who sadly leaves his wife and children behind in the old country while he makes the voyage to America in hopes of a better life for all of them. Working constantly to earn enough for his family’s passage, Feivel is treated by his cousin to a trip to Coney Island, where his amazement is reflected by page after page of fluid, dramatic scenes of Coney Island’s many wonders. The wooden carousel horses resonate the most with Feivel and when he sees a sign advertising for an experienced wood carver, he applies and gets the job. Each of the magnificent horses Feivel creates is fashioned with his family in mind so that a horse with a “long, golden mane as bright as sunshine” is named Goldie for his wife while another whose “speed and power made him stand out” is painted a “regal blue” in honor of Feivel’s proud oldest son, Avram. It takes three years for the carousel to be completed and through all of that time, Feivel yearns for his family, which he knows is changing and growing up without him. And despite his pride in the beauty of the carousel, it isn’t until his family is able to join him in America that he rides the carousel whose circle is now complete. A historical note explains how Jewish woodcarvers, whose skills had been developed in Europe making synagogue decorations, migrated to America at the same time that the carousel industry was flourishing. Hyde’s writing is a smooth blend of the historical and the fictional, written with much visual detail and a sense of pathos for the separation of immigrant families. Keeping it all upbeat and not too sentimental are van der Sterre’s paintings, done in a muted palette that conveys action, setting, and theme very attractively. The Rose Horse by Deborah Lee Rose (Harcourt Brace, 1996) tells a similar story. Hyde and van der Sterre also collaborated on Mendel’s Accordion (Kar-Ben/Lerner, 2007). Recommended with enthusiasm. Category: n/a. 2010, Kar-Ben/Lerner, 32pp., $17.95. Ages 7 to 10.