Young readers may be able to relate to Oberman's favorite character, a youngster named Danny, who is often at odds with his parents and peers, and who learns the ways of the world from an elderly neighbor who is a storyteller, a natural wit, and the keeper of information about Europe before World War II.
The best stories are those that focus most directly on Danny's frustration as the adult world proves impenetrable and tantalizingly out of reach. Oberman has a knack for the initiation story, in which the child finds himself in an embarrassing or challenging situation but comes through it bearing a nugget of wisdom. Danny's world is small - just a few blocks of a Winnipeg neighborhood - but his adventures point toward a wider, more complicated world yet to be grasped.
Norman Ravvin