ABOUT THE BOOK

The first picture-book adaptation of the beloved song "Sunrise, Sunset" from the musical Fiddler on the Roof follows a little girl as she grows up, falls in love, marries, and has a little one of her own. Ian Schoenherr's beautifully rendered illustrations lovingly depict growing up in a caring family and a supportive community.

ARTIST'S NOTE

As "Sunrise, Sunset" is a song, not a story, and lacks the usual beginning, middle and end, it presented a narrative challenge. My one firm directive was to stay true to the source material, so I read (and loved) Sholom Aleichem's "Tevye the Dairyman" stories, Joe Stein's playscript based on the stories, and Richard Altman's book "The Making of A Musical" about bringing Fiddler on the Roof to stage and screen. And of course I watched Norman Jewison's film again and again. Although Tevye is the main character, focusing my pictures on him would have made the book more about loss and growing older than about falling in love and growing up. So I created a visual story arc that highlighted Tevye's daughter and the boy she eventually marries, and kept the focus more childlike. In making the paintings I used colored pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on Bristol Board.

REVIEWS

"Schoenherr's stunning artwork done in colored pencil, ink, and acrylic beautifully illustrates this song from Fiddler on the Roof."

"A lovely homage to a time-honored song - and tradition."

"Ian Schoenherr provides warm, lushly colored illustrations."

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copyright © Ian Schoenherr