Customer Reviews

Di Kats Der Payats: The Cat In The Hat (Yiddish Edition)

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Much of this Review is similar to my review of Eyn Fish Tsvey Fish Royter Fish Bloyer Fish: One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish in Yiddish (Yiddish Edition); the fish led me to look for more from the same translator, and I was delighted to find this translation to read to my wife. We have both read it many times in English; the cat was a great favorite of both of our kids.

As I wrote in the fish review, this Review is probably a bit out of kilter, written as it is by a fallen away Protestant who reads and speaks no Yiddish -- and not even any German. Nonetheless, this was a charmer.

The cat works well in Yiddish, not quite as well as the fish, but still fun for both reader and listener. (Somehow the "one two three" cadence of the fish was more satisfying than the rather more free form of the cat.) Onomatopoeia rules in Yiddish, and this translation contains many Germanic words that are very close to English.

The text is written in both Hebrew script and Latin-alphabet transliterations so it was easy for me to read the words aloud, with something of the proper tones taught me by a Jewish roomate many years ago when we both were majoring in English.

I did some further research on the author and found that he is a poet; frankly that knowledge made the second reading of the cat more satisfying to both me and my wife -- I was able to impart a bit more lyricism into my declamation.

I was also intrigued to read the author's hype for the book, the first I can remember written by a poet for his own book, and certainly the first written in both English and Yiddish [deletions courtesy of Amazon; see the first Comment for the full text]:

Di kats der payats
Iz shoyn do mit gramen.
Er vil me zol koyfn
un leynen tsuzamen.

There once was a Cat.
His hat was divine,
but Seuss-rhyming Yiddish?
He hadn't the time.

Vu koyft men? A shayle?
Ot zogt undz der lets:
"S'iz [...]
afn oylem-hanets!"

But Di Kats der Payats?
Right out of the box
He speaks mame-loshn!
He changes your lox!

"S'iz nor fuftsn dolar
plus shikgelt. Ir hert?
A vilde metsie!
S'iz keday un s'iz vert!"

He ticks off your fish!
Your rake is long gone!
Just [...] plus shipping
at __________________.

Git do oybn a klik.
Koyfts yidn, un koyft!
Nisht rut zikh, nor aylt zikh!
Nisht vart tsu, nor loyft!

Support feline Yiddish.
Come buy it! Why not?
You'll like it just fine.
You'll love it a lot.

Like the author here, I read both the English version (from an extremely well worn copy from our library) interlaced with the Yiddish version. It was a joy for both my wife and myself.

Robert C. Ross 2010