This wonderful 2015 picture book by Jerry Spinelli and superbly illustrated by LeUyen Pham is a beautiful story of family, parenting, growth and aging. It follows the Seeton kids Skippy, Sheldon, Stewart, and Sophie from early childhood through adulthood, from playing in the backyard to further out in the neighborhood, the development of their individual interest and hobbies, and then their careers around the world.
At the heart of the whole story, throughout, is Mama Seeton’s two-tone whistle that calls them home for dinner. A heartfelt subtle subtext of the story is Papa Seeton’s love for his wife. The style of dress, the architecture, the types of automobiles – all align with their years of growth, it’s a very sweet book.
In the Hallel prayer (from Psalms) there’s a verse: “The mother is the children is happy” which speaks to the last part of “Mama Seeton’s Whistle” when Papa and Mama are empty nesters and she doesn’t feel the whistle works anymore. Papa understanding her pain and sadness (he likely does something behind the scenes and) encourages her to go to the back porch and do one more two-tone whistle…
This is a great story about family. But let’s envision it also as the global Jewish family, Jewish peoplehood as a whole:
Yes, we have our individual paths, interests and goals, we have spread far and wide both geographically and ideologically, we each have our own spaces and places. We’re no longer all playing together in the same backyard.
But there’s still Mama’s Whistle, the inner call of the soul, the deep-core connection, where (hopefully!) we see ourselves as one interconnected inseparable family…