KIBITZERS AND FOOLS

If you sat Webster, Aesop and Sholem Aleichem around a rickety table and served them some chicken soup with or without the rice, you might achieve something as delightful as Taback’s old world Yiddish storytelling-cum-definitions-cum-morals, all learned from his zayda (grandfather). These short but very wise vignettes come out of a world of poverty imbued with spiritual richness and a strong dose of practicality. From sick chickens to torn umbrellas, from quests for the meaning of life, to schlemiels (fools) dumping soup onto the laps of schlimazels (unlucky ones), the stories are gems for reading and telling. Taback’s signature style of colorful and zany illustrations is delightful. As he says: “A suit of clothing is as good as the tailor.” In this case, the author/artist has stitched together a very fine suite of stories. (Folktale. 4-10)