A tale about Chelm—a town celebrated in Jewish folklore for the legendary idiocy of its inhabitants. Zaynul, a poor teacher, and Zeitel, his wife, decide to save money to buy the ingredients for apple strudel—each agrees to deposit a zloty a week into a trunk. But when after a few months they open the trunk, it turns out (in a kind of inversion of O. Henry's ``The Gift of the Magi'') that neither of them has put in any money, each counting on the other's contributions. They start arguing and fall into the trunk. The lid shuts, the trunk rolls out of their house, and, in the climactic scene of the story, down the hill—crashing through everything, with a crowd following—into the middle of the marketplace, where it comes to a stop. After the incident, the Wise Men of Chelm pass a law regarding teachers, trunks, and apple strudel. The narration and dialogue have many colorful details—some funnier than others. On the whole, the story is written in such a way that, were it read out loud, an Eastern European accent would not sound inappropriate. The best thing about this book are Lisker's oils (one per page of text). Recalling Chagall's painting of shtetl life, they combine brightness and softness and a floating perspective, and depict a world of little houses, bald men with big beards, women with kerchiefs, cows and goats, chickens and dogs. These pictures are suffused with loving warmth; it's impossible not to linger over them. A uniquely funny book. (Picture book/folklore. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-531-06879-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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