Customer Reviews

Yiddish with George and Laura

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The authors of Yiddish with Dick and Jane have written another equally humorous book, Yiddish with George and Laura.

This parody of the presidential family is a laugh a minute from the
first page. "See George. He is our president. He lives in a fancy white house and is a big shmegegge."

For the reader who is not familiar with the Yiddish term shmegegge, they get to look at the glossary in the back of the book. The glossary is the funniest part of the book. Weiner and Davilman define shmegegge as; A buffoon, an idiot, a fool.

"That Joe Lieberman--he's such a shmegegge even the Democrats
won't vote for him." The book follows George, Laura, Jenna and
Barbara to Kennebunk Port, Maine where the Bush family summer
home is located. They are visiting for George's parents' birthday
celebration. When they arrive, they are greeted by Barbara, George
Sr. and all of George's three brothers.

Each page of the story interjects Yiddish as well as current events.
The reader will be amazed by how current this book can be. For
example, the definition of goen is genius. "That Cheney--what a
goen. Severs all his ties with Halliburton and can still make a bundle
from them."

This book is a great gift for anyone with a sense of humor.

Armchair Interviews says: What a "schtick" these authors have!

I'm old enough to remember the "Dick and Jane" reading primers and I know just enough Yiddish to understand its usage in the book without going back and forth to the glossary in the back. While I agree that George Bush IS a shmegegge (dope), finding it used this way in a book was just "laughing out loud" funny.

My son and I sat down and read it. He shares most of my political views and enjoyed much of it and it also gave me the opportunity to teach him some of the bits and pieces of Yiddish that I know. I have come to regret not learning more of it in my youth when my father could have taught me.

The one flaw is that words are not translated in the text; you have to keep going to the glossary in the back. That wasn't a problem for me, there weren't too many phrases that I didn't know, but it could keep you from enjoying a book that is otherwise a great read.
If you're in the mood to learn a little Yiddish, and you're a Democrat, this book is for you.

slightly humorous but definitely not worth buying -- scan it at a bookstore before purchase

Perhaps I should have read "Yiddish with Dick and Jane" to fully appreciate "Yiddish with George and Laura", but frankly, I don't think it would have made a difference. While I agree with the authors' political views, the concept and story of this mini-book are just plain silly - certainly not the "rollicking family drama" they'd had in mind, as stated in the Authors' Note section, which, by the way, was much more interesting than the actual tale they created. I did, however, learn some Yiddish words I never knew and found the Glossary at the end more enjoyable and certainly more humorous than the story.

What a wonderful, warm laugh I got when I received this book as a gift. I recommend it to anyone and everyone that is interested in the nuances of Yiddish as used to describe our embarrassing White House leadership! The artwork is fantastic, and I must say we are still laughing about it. Great gift!

This Book was a Present to one of my Family members.
The Book "Yiddish with George and Laura",
was a big hit! The Smile on the face tells the whole story.
I had been searching for awhile to find this book.
It was delivered in plenty of time for it's Christmas presentation.
Thank you Amazon!
Dennis.

This book is hysterical. If you remember Fun With Dick and Jane it has more meaning. Great coffee table book.

Yiddish With Dick and Jane had me laughing out loud all throughout, but this one just didn't do it for me. Somehow it was funny when they threw Yiddish into the Dick and Jane world, but I don't think it worked as well when they tried for a sequel in the political world. I mean there are many other reviewers who got some laughs out of it, which is great, but I thought this one was kind of awkward and grasping. Yiddish and the Bushes didn't really gel this time, in my view. The glossary uses all the terms in silly attempts at political jokes. At the end there is a somewhat lengthy explanation of why the book is supposed to be funny. I wanted this book to be good and to live up to Y w/D & J, but I was disappointed. I gave it a couple points because it had a few terms I didn't already know, but some of the phrases were long and looked particularly strange when put into the mouths of the Bushes.

This follow up to Yiddish with Dick and Jane takes another step in doing something different - putting Yiddish words into the mouths of George Bush and family, a well-known WASP crew. In Yiddish with George and Laura, the Bush clan gathers to celebrate Bar (Barbara Bush) and Poppy's (George) birthdays with a few adventures on the way.

We meet the family and learn Yiddish words describing each one. Do you think the Bush twins are sheyna maydls? In reading the story, the reader can figure out what many of the Yiddish words mean and may even recognize a couple as they've become a mainstay for English speakers. Don't know what sheyna maydl means? Check the glossary in the back of the book for its definition, which is "pretty girls."

The story, of course, pokes fun at the family and their characteristics, such as George and one of his daughter's problems with drinking, and George's brothers' abilities to make lots of money. The story's illustrations have a similar watercolor style to the original Dick and Jane as well as the Yiddish parody version.

George calls his brother, Neil, a tuchas leker. Don't think that one needs an explanation. The family's arguments with Yiddish words thrown in every sentence are a hoot. Even those who never went through the torture of reading Dick and Jane in grade school will get a kick out of George and Laura. The story moves quickly and prompts plenty of grins.

A great idea, poorly executed. This is the book Mel Brooks would have written if he had been born in West Haven, and attended Lawrenceville Academy. Yiddish by Episcopalians!