Silly predicaments, strong rhyming verse, amusing illustrations, and a kid’s victory—a pleasing Shabbos tale.
In this picture book, no one can open a grandmother’s jar of gefilte fish until a boy finds a solution.
It’s Shabbos, and Jack’s grandmother Judy, called Bubbe, is making her grandson’s favorite gefilte fish—but first, she has to get the lid off the jar. And that proves just about impossible. Bubbe and Zayde, Jack’s grandfather, try the usual methods with no success, then get friends, relations, and locals to employ their special skills: a bodybuilding neighbor, a mechanic, a doctor (who diagnoses “a dreadful case of / Liddy-stuck-a-tosis!”), and more. Zayde proposes getting a new jar, but the store is closed. Luckily, Jack has an idea: use a magic word. He speaks politely to the jar, the lid opens, and Shabbos dinner is saved. The husband-and-wife team of Allison Marks and Wayne Marks (Og's Ark, 2016) tells a humorous story with rhyming quatrains that scan well: “They lugged it to their auto shop / And schmeared it well with sludge. / But even with a monkey wrench / That lid refused to budge.” A useful glossary, pronunciation guide, recipe for gefilte mini-muffins, and Shabbos song are included. Andriani's (Rome Romp!, 2016, etc.) images are a delight, depicting the tale’s comic misadventures with attractive, mostly soft colors. The pictures have energy and a wealth of witty details, including a fisherman’s piscine-themed decorations and the actions of the family pets, who try to help.
Silly predicaments, strong rhyming verse, amusing illustrations, and a kid’s victory—a pleasing Shabbos tale.Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9908430-0-9
Page Count: 49
Publisher: MB Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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BOOK REVIEW
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