Yankee Doodle Boychik [Paperback]

Jack Stillerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2002

Jackknown on the street as Jake and Boychik to his ma, was born on the Fourth ofJuly on Chicago's Southside, smelling distance from the stockyards. Yankee Doodle Boychik starts in1919.¿ Jack is four and living packed "like herring in a barrel" behind Pa's shoe store.¿ The struggles and triumphs, poignant and funny, to become a realAmerican boy are portrayed through his eyes.¿The story takes the reader through forty chapter stories to his barmitzvah when he invites the neighbors to their first Jewish party. Itwas the magic time of radio and Babe Ruth, of Paul Whiteman's band serialmovies on Saturday morning.¿ Jakeconfronts his immigrant Ma's old country values, convincing her that there istime in his day for sports as well as study and its all right for a Jewish boyto play the sax in a jazz band, rather than a fiddle in a concert hall. Thisis not the usual coming of age story.¿In Yankee Doodle Boychik, aJewish boy grows up in a functionalfamily.¿ Discipline is tempered byMa's love and conflicts resolved without sacrificing religious principle. Bythe last chapter, the reader will have laughed and cried with Jake as hepursues the wins and losses of his dreams.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JACK I STILLERMAN is the author of A Chicago Memoir-Yankee Doodle Boyhood, winner of National Legacy Award, published in variety of literary journals. He is graduate of Northwestern University Dental School. He lives in California.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (April 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759686769
• ISBN-13: 978-0759686762
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,372,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars yankee doodle boychik, June 13, 2002

By 

Florence Flesch (santa monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yankee Doodle Boychik (Paperback)

this is a charming, poignant story of the child of an immigrant family learning to grow up Amrican. His old country Ma keeps him on the right track, insisting he maintain the high values of her own religious childhood in the Ukrain and at the same time, learns from him the needs of an Aamerican boy. Each of the 40 chapters in this lovely book is a complete short story in itself. Boychik's entire family joins him in his quest to become an American. You will laugh and cry with Jake and at the same time learn something about Chicago in the pre-depression era.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Book About Jewish Family Life In Chicago 1920s, May 30, 2002

By 

Irvin Goodman - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yankee Doodle Boychik (Paperback)

I greatly enjoyed every one of the 40 chapters in this wonderful recollection of Jewish life in 20's America. Each chapter highlights a delightful adventure as seen through the eyes of a youngster. Trials and tribulations of a youngster, as remembered by the guy who lived it, is a heartwarming tribute to family life for an immigrant family with their youngsters. Having been brought up in a similar family situation, in the 1930's, I could see myself in many of these same daily adventures as a child. Chapters cover important family events ranging from family moves, new pets, shoppping, new bikes, school, camp, vacations, etc., etc. All aspects of daily family life and how they affect youngsters and parents are covered with an abundance of Yiddish speech and Jewish family attitudes. This book provides a wonderful insight into this period of American life. Enjoy, enjoy, and share with others.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recaptured simply, warm and lovingly, September 27, 2002

By 

E S Arvizu (Santa Monica, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yankee Doodle Boychik (Paperback)

Accurately recalls early, strong influences that shape an integrity, a warm, sweet wit that anyone will be touched by; this book and the author reveal power in the subtle, loving care his immigrant mother possesses and shows him throughout, as he makes his choices and makes new friends. Expressed in a way that mirrors determination, a shared spark for life and in a new land where Boychik translates the dream, and the vision, for himself while preserving, in a new American-style, strong family culture, tradition, and conviction based in tolerance, kindness and respect that we all identify. Read this book. It will absolutely delight you and help you see what is truly important in every family, every culture, every individual!