Hallelujah: The Story of Leonard Cohen

"Moving...captures the joyfully quotidian spirit of the musician's work." --Publisher's Weekly

Writer and musician Alicia Jo Rabins makes her picture book debut with this biography of Leonard Cohen and the creation of his masterpiece "Hallelujah" through continued persistence, belief, and dedication.

Leonard Cohen was surrounded by music. His mother would sing folk songs in Yiddish and Russian. The synagogue where his grandfather was rabbi sounded like the gates of Heaven opening. And Leonard's heart turned the beauty of the world into music only he could hear.

But there was also sadness. How could life contain so much joy and also so much sorrow? Leonard wondered if there was a way to capture all those feelings at once.

He learned to play the guitar. He wrote songs. As a musician, people would come to see him perform. But there was still something missing. A song, hidden inside of him. One that he believed in, even when he struggled to write it or when others didn't understand it. And now, "Hallelujah" lives in all our hearts.

An author's note asks readers to consider what their Hallelujah is, and encourages them to share their talents and joys with the world.

Alicia Jo Rabins is an award-winning performer, musician, poet, and Jewish scholar. Author of Even God Has Bad Parenting Days, published by Behrman House, she has also written articles for Kveller, Ecotone Magazine, Tablet Magazine, and American Poetry Review, among others. Rabins graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College (Creative Writing), holds an MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson and an MA in Jewish Women's and Gender Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Gene Pendon is the artist behind the mural Tower of Songs, Hommage à Leonard Cohen, in Montreal. Hel has a Bachelors degree in Fine-Arts (drawing and painting) from Concordia University. In 1998, he co-founded Heavyweight Production House (HVW8), now based in Montreal and in Los Angeles. He also co-creates the Heavyweight Art Installation, an international project that partners live painting to music and to urban cultures. He lives in Montreal, Canada.