Jews

Strudel, Strudel, Strudel

A rollicking text and colorful paintings explain why, in Chelm, teachers may not live on top of a hill, own a trunk with wheels, or eat apple strudel. By the author of The Adventures of High John the Conquerer.

Shlemazel and the Remarkable Spoon of Pohost

A retelling of an Eastern European tale in which Shlemazel, the laziest man in town, is tricked into believing that the lucky spoon given to him by a neighbor will bring him fortune and fame, if it is used in the right way.

 

Something For Nothing

Dog lived in the noisiest part of Bialystok. All day long he heard the hubbub of the nearby marketplace, and all night long he heard the banging and clanging of workmen unloading their goods. When he could take the racket no more, Dog set off for the country to find a quieter place to live. On his first night in his new home, a gang of howling and yowling, hissing and screeching cats terrorize him, destroying his newfound peace and quiet. Inspired by a Jewish folk tale, how Dog outwits the rascally cats makes for a humorous, satisfying story, exuberantly illustrated with stunning jewel-toned paintings reminiscent of Marc Chagall’s. Afterword.

Aesop Accolades (Awards)

Dybbuk: A Version

In this retelling of a Jewish legend, a girl is possessed by the spirit of the man she was destined to, but did not, marry. Sender, the richest man in town, only wants the best for his daughter, Leah. Her husband-to-be must be extremely wealthy. But when Leah and Konin, an orphaned scholar, fall in love, Sender recalls a pact he made long ago with his best friend: If one man had a daughter and the other a son the two would be married. Though Konin is the son of his beloved friend, Sender cannot bear to permit the poor scholar to wed Leah. Konin dies of a broken heart once he hears Leah has been promised to another. Konin has his revenge, though, on Leah’s wedding day when he inhabits her body and refuses to leave.

Even Higher

Young Reuven has a problem. Every year, on the day before Rosh Hashanah, the beloved rabbi of the village of Nemirov disappears until nightfall and no one knows where he goes. The villagers suspect that he ascends to heaven to beg forgiveness for their sins, but Reuven’s friends want the truth. They appoint him to solve the mystery — after all, he is the smallest and fastest of the group — but how? That evening, when Reuven watches the rabbi through the synagogue window, he gets an idea. Determined to follow him at daybreak, Reuven is baffled as the rabbi, disguised as a simple woodcutter, passes the synagogue, the cheder, and Beryl the Baker’s house — his usual stops — only to enter the great forest. Where could the rabbi of Nemirov possibly be going? Adapted from a beloved story by I.L. Peretz, Richard Ungar once again captures the joyous spirit of the Jewish folktale with lighthearted humor and a rich palette of colors as vibrant as the story he tells.

Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto

This is the only biography for children about the remarkable Holocaust heroine Irena Sendler, who smuggled over 400 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto.