Five Little Gefiltes [Hardcover]

Dave Horowitz (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: February 1, 2007 | Age Range: 4 and up

When five curious young gefilte fish have the chutzpah to sneak out of their jar and set off to explore the world, they are followed by a loud OY VEY!—Mama Gefilte isn’t too happy to see her little ones leaving the nest. But she’s taught them well, and at the end of their adventures, each one proves himself a mensch—making Mama one proud gefilte indeed.

Dave Horowitz’s playful rhyming tale, its illustrations packed with comic asides, will have readers giggling out loud and looking for opportunities to practice their Yiddish—with help from the handy glossary at the end of the book.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With this endearing if uneven parody of "Five Little Ducklings," Horowitz (The Ugly Pumpkin) initiates youngsters into the joys of Yiddish—just in time for Passover. After explaining what gefilte fish is (though non-Jewish readers may not be helped much by a definition that compares them to "matzo balls made out of fish"), the author sends the five title characters out of their jar to explore New York City. Mama Gefilte's cries of "Oy vey!" meeting with decreasing success as, one by one, the gefiltes are lured away: "One little gefilte went out one day./ A big yellow taxi schlepped him away./ Mama Gefilte cried out 'Oy vey!'/ but not a single gefilte came back that day." Comic asides abound, enabling Horowitz to stuff even more Yiddishisms into his story, including the always evocative "tuches" and "plotz." Of course, all the gefiltes do eventually come back to their meshugana Mama " 'cause each was a mensch!" Horowitz's gefiltes actually do look an awful lot like matzo balls, but their hats give them character, and his compositions play up the puns (e.g., a movie ad for Goldie Lox and the 3 Schmears). Simms Taback's Kibitzers and Fools this is not. Think of this as pretty tasty schmear. All ages. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—Remember the five little ducks that wandered away from their mama? In this parody, the troublesome offspring are balls of chopped fish traditionally served as an appetizer to a Jewish meal. The gefiltes wander across an early-20th-century New York City, visiting theaters and delicatessens, swimming in the bay, and riding in a yellow cab, with a smaller number returning home each time. Whenever she loses a child, Mama Gefilte cries out, "Oy Vey!," and the book is well spiced with Yiddish phrases and New York speech patterns. Of course, all ends happily when the five gefiltes return, because "each was a mensch" (a really good person). With the right adult guidance, this story may amuse youngsters while helping them to absorb some Yiddish. It might even encourage them to expand their tastes-although gefilte fish is not a dish popular with kids, who are more likely to agree with the character who utters "Feh! that's disgusting." It's silly, but all in good fun.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399246088
• ISBN-13: 978-0399246081
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 10.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Jewish

More About the Author

My name is Dave Horowitz. I grew up in Smithtown, New York in the 1970s. Instead of paying attention in school I drew pictures of my teachers. Then I went to a famous art college in Rhode Island and studied coloring.

In 1992 I graduated and went to Oregon to play drums and drink coffee. Then I moved to New York City and worked next door to the Twin Towers. Then I learned how to climb rocks and got fired.

Then I climbed rocks.

I moved up to the Hudson Valley and then to California and then to New Hampshire and then back to the Hudson Valley. Then I got a job as a "professional" rock climber. Then I got too old for that.

I still live in the Hudson Valley where I write and illustrate picture books. So far so good...

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My two year old shouts "Oy Vey" with gusto! June 1, 2007

By Mama

Format:Hardcover

I overheard an amused mom reading this aloud to her daughter and then, after they put it down, I grabbed it and bought it. We love reading it aloud and my kids shout "oy vey" which cracks me up! I also love having them try out some of the yiddish words that are funny flourishes throughout the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SO so funny! July 19, 2011

By Bibliophilic

Format:Hardcover

This book could easily have been one of those concept books that starts with a good idea, but fades as the gimmick gets stretched and stretched over the course of the book.

_Five Little Gefiltes_ is not that kind of a book. Each page has uproarious details that reflect Jewish culture and tradition (and humor) with goofy allusions just for the parents. This is a very, very funny book, and a smart one, too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Oy vey! April 2, 2011

By Amy Ignatow

Format:Hardcover

I love love love this book. I love it more than any other Jewish food-based children's books. And I don't even like gefilte fish.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Children's Book EVER!!! June 8, 2010

By R. Hughes

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a nanny I've read hundreds of books with children and none compares to Five Little Gefiltes! It's a delight to have young children react with such joy and enthusiasm as I read to and with them. Nothing compares to the sound of a giddy child yelling "Oy vey!" Except maybe the sound of a child yelling "I'm gonna plotz!" It's become a favorite book of every child I've read it to. Such chutzpah this book has! ;)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fits right into my classroom humor. February 25, 2009

By Lora M. Bailin

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book because it shares an older type jewish humor that is not often shared with our younger children unless they are exposed to their older family members. I read it using various voices and have other elder members that come to visit read using their unique humor to share the story with my students.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars great and funny February 18, 2009

By Shelly P. Scribner

Format:Hardcover

This is a very humorfulled book. I can't wait to see the reactions of my very young nieces and nephews.It depicts a humor filled story that makes me chuckle.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Little Gefiltes August 6, 2007

By Jewish Book World Magazine

Format:Hardcover

Five little smiling Gefilte fish balls wearing top hats (one is always whistling) greet us on the cover of this amusing parody of the "Five Little Ducks" song. They go out daily from their jar to experience city life, bouncing down the wrought iron fire escape, "taking in a play", swimming in the bay "crashing the deli buffet", an getting "shlepped away" in a yellow taxi. Unfortunately for Mama Gefilte, one less gefilte returns each day, causing her to cry out "OY VEY" in consternation, until they all return happily to where the babushka-wearing Mama fish ball sits on her park bench. She stops kvetching, and now kvells with happiness. The funny asides on signage and within the illustrations are clever inside Yiddish jokes for the older crowd, but the book stands on its own as a delightful frolic through New York's Jewish scene. This book needs to be sung--the zanier the better! Share with some kids ASAP--just avoid serving Gefilte fish to those who won't appreciate it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved by both children & parents April 21, 2013

By Wicked Reader

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a gift to a little boy who had just become a big brother. Once his parents started reading it to him, they were hooked too. A fun book to read together.