Amazon.com Review
Inspired by the everyday trinkets and treasures in her apartment, a grandmother tells her curious granddaughter stories based on their Russian Jewish heritage. An old tin button box reminds Grandmother about the poor farmer who outwitted a Czar. While cutting up apples for a strudel, Grandmother recalls the tale of a very rich, very greedy merchant who learned a lesson at the table of King Solomon. Choosing among carnations, gladioli, and roses in Moshe’s flower shop makes Grandmother think of a garden of talking--and bickering--flowers.
This collection of 10 traditional Jewish folk tales, first published in 1990, is now gorgeously illustrated by Caldecott Honor Book recipient Anita Lobel (On Market Street). Author Adele Geras, who also penned the critically acclaimed young adult novel Troy, has captured the rhythm and cozy warmth of a loving grandmother’s storytelling. Readers of all ages will love to curl up with the granddaughter for an afternoon of magical, wondrous shared lore. (Ages 8 and older) --Emilie Coulter
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5-This wise and warmhearted collection of 10 Jewish tales originally published in 1990 (Knopf; o.p.) has been illustrated with full-color paintings. Each of the stories is introduced in the broader framework of a little girl exploring her grandmother's apartment. Individual rooms or objects spark the child's interest and each time her grandmother says, "It reminds me of a story." All of her tales impart universal truths about everyday foibles and follies, always in the gentle voice of a loving bubbe who sometimes passes on age-old Jewish observances and customs in the process. The stories are set in Jerusalem, in Chelm with its fools, and in small towns with wise rabbis and even wiser wives. In the loveliest selection of all, a dove must select the very best plant in a garden. Her choice is the olive tree because it is nourishing, modest, kind, and "a symbol of peace in the world." Lobel's energetic and robust paintings provide the perfect accompaniment. These are stories to be shared and treasured.
Susan Pine, New York Public LibraryCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
