The Brothers Schlemiel (Hardcover)

by Mark Binder (Author), Zevi Blum (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: new schoolteacher, Rabbi Kibbitz, Jacob Schlemiel, Reb Cantor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Abraham and Adam are identical twins who look so much alike that sometimes they confuse themselves. They use their appearance to great advantage, playing practical jokes, avoiding chores, and even capturing a notorious bandit. Abraham is a bit wiser than Adam, who is more impulsive, but they share the curse of the Schlemiel, which means they are destined to become unlucky fools. Loyal to a fault, the brothers will do anything to help each other, even switching identities in order to help Adam keep his true love. Originally appearing in serialized stories in the Houston Jewish Herald-Voice, Binder’s droll characters (who sometimes succeed despite their bumbling) will delight readers, particularly those who have previously heard stories about the residents of Chelm. Blum’s fanciful illustrations have an Old World feel reminiscent of Anita Lobel’s artwork in On Market Street (1981). By turns hilarious and heartwarming, this book begs to be shared aloud, although adults may want to look over the childbirth chapters before reading them to very young children. Grades 6-9. --Kay Weisman

Review
"Mark Binder continues the tradition of the town of Chelm, whose mythical residents are slightly confused - or maybe a little dense - but always in good humor." --JTNews, August 22, 2008

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 247 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society of America (February 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827608659
• ISBN-13: 978-0827608658
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,256,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Newly Created Folkore, April 13, 2008

By	Jean Marrapodi "Jean Marrapodi" (Providence, RI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mark Binder is an American treasure. As a storyteller, Mark is completely engaging. The Brothers Schlemiel is Mark in print. Having heard Mark perform on several occasions, I can hear Mark spinning these tales, and each chapter pulls you right into the tension of the moment, anxiously awaiting the resolution at the end. Grandparents rarely sit and tell their children stories any more. These are the kinds of stories children love to hear and beg for "just one more" for hours.

This book contains newly created folklore, chronicling the birth and life of two Jewish twins living in the all-too-close-to-home imaginary village of Chelm, where all of the archetypical characters we come to love and expect in tales of this genre live and interact with them. It's about small towns, families, and growing up in a culture that never changes.

A great read for all. Worth savoring and rereading.

4.0 out of 5 stars Brothers Schlemiel, January 26, 2009

By	Jewish Book World Magazine (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

In The Brothers Schlemiel, Mark Binder tries to capture the community of Chelm in all its innocence, foolishness and humor. "In this work of fiction, history lives in the footnotes," he declares in his author's note. When history gets in the way of the story, it is easily modified. So it's clear from the start that there is nothing factual about this book, which traces the lives of the Schlemiel family and the community that surrounds them. Divided into 45 chapters that were originally serialized in various Jewish newspapers in North America, the book's individual chapters work well on their own, making this a good bedtime read for adults and young readers. But it's the adults who will really get the humor written between the lines. "Only in Chelm could a father get so lost going to fetch the midwife that he misses the birth of his first child," Binder writes, poking consistent fun at the antics and idiocy of those who call Chelm home. It seems that everyone in the town is in slow mode, so the mix-ups are many and the potential for laughter abundant. Zevi Blum adds colorful caricatures to the pages that help make this lengthy book a light-hearted, whimsical, read. Reviewed by Lauren Kramer