The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories from Chelm [Hardcover]

Eric A. Kimmel (Author), Mordicai Gerstein (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Drawing on traditional Jewish folklore, these Hanukkah stories relate the antics of the people of Chelm, thought--perhaps incorrectly--to be a town of fools.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ages 4-8. The best retellings of the Fools of Chelm stories, such as Isaac Bashevis Singer's When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw (1968), reveal a wry absurdity in the literal truth. Rooted in daily shtetl life, they cut down our most earnest endeavors and show us as survivors making the best of the worst. Kimmel gets the shtetl setting, the humanity, and the farce; but his collection is uneven. Some tales, such as "Wisdom for Sale," go on much too long, with elaborately contrived fantasy and heavy explanations of the wise-fool paradox. And Kimmel's sources are vague: only two of the stories are traditional Chelm tales; some are adapted from "other traditions," and some are Kimmel's own work. There are, however, some memorable tales. One of the best is "The Magic Spoon," in which the villagers talk themselves into making latkes together. Gerstein's detailed ink-on-oil paint artwork, one full-page picture per story, captures the intricate silliness and slapstick, and it's fitting that the type uses upside-down question marks. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Mordicai Gerstein is the author and illustrator of many children's books, including The Wild Boy and Victor. He makes him home in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Eric A. Kimmel is the author of many books for children, including the Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823414639
• ISBN-13: 978-0823414635
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,426,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric A. Kimmel is well known for the tales he has retold from around the world. Some of his best-known titles are "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins" (a Caldecott Honor book), "Gershon's Monster", "Anansi and the Talking Melon", and "The Runaway Tortilla". A former professor of children's literature, he lives in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EIGHT WONDERFUL HANUKKAH STORIES - ONE FOR EACH NIGHT, September 17, 2000

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories from Chelm (Hardcover)

While the real city of Chelm is in Poland, the Chelm of Jewish legend could be almost anywhere - it is the traditional town of fools. But, as is the case with many fools, they're often wiser than we realize. After all, when dreidel is played in Chelm everyone wins!

Caldecott Honoree Kimmel has created eight hilarious Hanukkah stories filled with memorable characters such as Monke Fool, and Feivel Bonehead. Add the smile-provoking, colorful illustrations of Mordicai Gerstein and you have a book that is both spirited and poignant - very much like Hanukkah itself.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wisdom for sale, November 19, 2001

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories from Chelm (Hardcover)

As Eric Kimmel explains in the afterword of another book, he hails from a long line of storytellers. That may be why he is particularly adept at telling these eight delights from Chelm, one for each night of the Festival of Lights.

Now Chelm, as you may know, is the mythical town of fools somewhere in Eastern Europe. And every book of Chelm stories offers a different explanation of how they got there, usually involving God, angels--and a giant slip-up. Kimmel's variation ascends to the level of Isaac Bashevis Singer (who also wrote magnificent tales for children), maybe because he retells a Yiddish version of the story.

Kimmel has a neat way of taking stories from one tradition and mixing them with others, a feat he pulls off with aplomb in three of these tales. I especially like Berel Dunce and Motke Fool in The Magic Spoon, a Chelm rendition of Stone Soup.

He can also magically pull original stories out of thin air, as he does here with three Chelmnick firsts. One, The Soul of the Menorah, introduces us to the menorah at the Grand Synogogue of Chelm, with a blessing from the Seer of Lublin himself.

It came to Chelm, many years ago, on the back of a hay wagon, in the shape of a hay fork. Anyone who dared to question that God threw it down from heaven was greeted with the rejoinder, "Dolt! Mooncalf! Since when does a hay fork shine like silver?"

Sparks of holiness can be found in the most common, ordinary things, the Rabbi of Lublin told the people of Chelm. "A blind beggar singing in the marketplace might be an angel. An old boot may hold the key to a cosmic riddle. We must constantly search for the hidden sparks so that we can uncover their true holiness."

Maybe these Chelmnicks are no fools. After all, they were smart enough to let Kimmel bind their wisdom between the covers of this book, and offer it for sale. Trust me, this book is rich. (But then, I never met a Chelmnick I didn't like.) Alyssa A. Lappen

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous stories, good lessons, January 22, 2001

By 

M. Ragen "searagen" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories from Chelm (Hardcover)

This is one of those books that is really fun to read to your kids. The stories, one for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, are cleverly told. Although the fine people of Chelm are often foolish, the lessons learned are always relayed in a wry, humorous way.

Kimmel has a way with words and the collection of wisdom represented within this book brings a new meaning to the holiday spirit. Our kids love these stories. Like Kimmel's book Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins and others, they like to hear these stories year-round.