K'Tonton's Yom Kippur Kitten [Hardcover]

Sadie Rose Weilerstein (Author), Joe Boddy (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

A kitchen mishap presents K'tonton with a sticky problem as he is preparing for Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgement. In this adventure children will experience the holiday's true message and enjoy our heroes exploits.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2?It is Yom Kippur, when Jewish children are expected to fast half a day. Thumbsized K'tonton insists on fasting all day, but when he sees a stray kitten lapping up milk he gets very hungry and tastes some honey in a cup on the counter. It spills, and he blames the kitten, violating the spirit of the holiday. When he sees that he has caused the innocent creature to go hungry, he feels guilty, owns up to his mother, and asks the kitten's forgiveness. This is the fourth story from Weilerstein's original collection (JPS, 1930) to be published as a picture book. Dividing the collection into individual titles was a good idea, because too many moral teachings at any one time could drive a child crazy. Some of the transliterated Hebrew words are explained within the text, and "pitiful" has been substituted for "plaintive," but otherwise the text remains true to the original. The major change is the addition of Boddy's contemporary black-and-white illustrations. They are quite effective, but the mother is made to look like a grotesque hausfrau. Many Jewish grandparents and parents remember K'tonton's stories with fondness and will be happy that their children can experience them as well.?Marcia W. Posner, Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5^-7. K'tonton, the Jewish Tom Thumblike child who made his first appearance some 40 years ago, gets a new picture-book face in this illustrated retelling of a story that appeared in Weilerstein's Best of K'tonton (1980). The story, in which K'tonton lets a stray kitten take the blame for causing some mischief in his mother's kitchen, is a pleasant, undisguised reminder of the purpose of the holiday of Yom Kippur: to repent for misdeeds. As he participates in the holiday service with his father, K'tonton realizes he must make amends. Slick, white paper gives the book a simple elegance and forms a rich background for the sweet, nicely executed black-and-white sketches. Special terms (tallit, Musaf, etc.) in the story give the narrative flavor; for the children who need them explained in more detail, there's a glossary. Stephanie Zvirin

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society of America (July 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827605412
• ISBN-13: 978-0827605411
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,561,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to atone, February 5, 2002

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: K'Tonton's Yom Kippur Kitten (Hardcover)

Sadie Rose Weilerstein, born in 1894, was a leading author of Jewish children's stories for more than 50 years. She introduced the tiny character named K'tonton in the September 1930 issue of Outlook magazine.

Isaac Samuel ben Baruch Reuben--whose first name meant laughter--was a late-born miracle. His mother had wanted a child so badly that in her Sukkot prayers, she promised to love even a child "no bigger than a thumb." Sure enough, before a year had passed, she gave birth to a son. And sure enough, he was no bigger than her thumb. She blanketed him in the flax she had used to wrap an etrog--the Israeli citrus fruit used to celebrate Sukkot--and cradled him in a hand-carved etrog box.

This story probably appeared in the first Weilerstein K'tonton collection, The Adventures of K'tonton (1935). It reappeared in The Best of K'tonton, a 1980 compendium of 16 stories from three books.

K'tonton was in the kitchen when a kitten appeared at the door. He asked his mother to give it some milk. At first, she refused, since feeding the kitten would encourage it to come back every day. But she fed it, and it came back a second day. On the third day, K'tonton's mother was preparing taiglach (honey pastries) and set a cup of honey at the edge of the table to fetch the kitten's milk. Then she went to answer the phone.

Just then, K'tonton saw a stream of honey running down the side of the cup, and licked it off. There was more honey on the rim. K'tonton leaned forward to reach it and sent the cup crashing to the floor. His mother asked if K'tonton had done this. He didn't answer. She blamed the kitten, and he did not correct her.

The lesson is very simple and traditional for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. "For sins against God, God can forgive. For sins against another person, only the person wronged can forgive." But it's told in a way that small children can understand.

How K'tonton achieves atonement is what makes this story special. Alyssa A. Lappen

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful!, July 23, 2006

By 

Jacob Eisenstein (Coopersburg, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: K'Tonton's Yom Kippur Kitten (Hardcover)

I just read this to my grandson, who is four, and he absolutely loved it. He made me read it two more times and made me promise to read it again next time I came for a visit. Wonderful story, lovely artwork.