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Summary
Summary
Presents retellings of five Sholom Aleichem stories which depict families observing the rituals and traditions of Jewish holidays together.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-- As in Holiday Tales of Sholom Aleichem (Aladdin, 1985), Shevrin succeeds in capturing Aleichem's intimate, seemingly effortless style and the wry, witty dialogue of his characters. The theme of this collection is the joys and tribulations of Jewish family life in 19th-century Russia. The stories are mostly set during Passover, Purim, or Chanukah. Whether it is being buttoned into a coat so tight that the narrator's eyes pop out of his head, being the first to burst into improper laughter at a rich uncle's crowded dinner table, or having one's dreams shattered when a fascinating stranger and guest turns out to be a thief, the narrators experience the bittersweet taste of life. The strength of the selections lies in the characters, who are revealed in all their quirkiness, inconsistency, and warmth through their actions and words. The realistic pencil drawings successfully capture a dramatic or amusing moment in each story. There is an interesting introduction in which Shevrin discusses the difficulties of translating from Yiddish into English and also gives some biographical information about Aleichem. Enjoyable for individual reading or as a family read-aloud. --Susan Giffard, Englewood Public Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This collection of five stories set a century ago expresses the richness of Judaic culture while recounting experiences of holiday preparations and family gatherings. Structured as recollections, most of the selections focus on childhood attitudes and perceptions. ``The Purim Dinner,'' for example, reveals a boy's fear and dislike of a rich, intimidating uncle. ``Chanukah Money'' conveys the anticipation of two youngsters making their rounds to collect rewards of kopeks and guldens from relatives. In translating Yiddish to English, Shevrin ( Holiday Tales of Sholom Aleichem ) does an admirable job of preserving the wit, wisdom and ethnic flavor of Aleichem's narration. Presenting life as a vigorous mosaic colored by human emotions, this book, which begs to be read aloud, is a tribute to tradition and family loyalty. Illustrations not seen by PW . Ages 10-13. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Five stories by a master storyteller focus on families as they gather around the table at mealtimes and on holidays. Because the translator succeeds so well in being faithful to the humor and inflection of the original Yiddish text, the stories may need to be read aloud by someone familiar with the phrasing and highly idiomatic language. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Translated from Yiddish, five wonderful stories by a well- loved author (1859-1916) who spent his last ten years in the US. The setting is the Russian village that Aleichem knew as a boy, where poverty is a familiar presence even in the comfortable households depicted here. Four of the stories concern holidays--a Purim dinner at a rich uncle's home, when the young narrator disgraces himself with uncontrollable laughter at the absurd singing of a ridiculous cousin; two brothers canvassing a fascinating assortment of relatives for Chanukah money; an odd but plausibly scholarly Pesach guest absconding with the family valuables; and, most touching, a grandfather recounting, with rueful generosity, the homecomings of his many improvident children. A last story describes a father's urgent, increasingly comical efforts to repair the family clock--which finally falls from the wall and smashes because he has added such a ludicrous array of weights. Each story offers several memorable portraits, satirical yet affectionate, as well as a rich taste of a village life that was permeated with religious observances. Shevrin's translation is lively and colorful, effectively conveying Aleichem's pungent humor and darker undercurrent; she also includes an excellent introduction on the author and on the art and demands of translation. To read aloud! Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 10+)
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-6, younger and older for reading aloud. Bickering and envy are as much a part of family life as love and mutual support: Sholom Aleichem's humane acceptance of our imperfections gives his shtetl stories an enduring vitality. If faith and tradition are the cement of the struggling Jewish community in late-nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, so also are gossip and ritualized insult. The pleasure of these five stories, translated from the Yiddish, is in the telling and in characterization, more than in plot. The narrator is usually a young boy, a sharp observer of his world who dodges the slaps and curses of his harried mother, tries to stifle his laughter at his pompous, rich uncle, and listens to the stories of Aunt Yente, whose scoundrel husband left her and went off to America. In the best story, "The Pesach Guest," a boy's family is honored to entertain a visitor who tells them luminous tales of a blessed Jewish faraway land where jewels lie scattered on the streets: in the morning, they discover that the visitor has stolen their valuables, and the boy weeps, not for the objects lost, but for "all the glorious things I had been robbed of, that had been taken from me, taken from me, taken from me." Each story will have a full-page illustration. Shevrin, who also translated Holiday Tales of Sholom Aleichem [BKL O 1 79], includes a rich glossary, and her chatty introduction raises interesting questions about capturing the idiom of another culture. How do you translate mensch? ~--Hazel Rochman