RevieWs

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The Way Meat Loves Salt by Nina
Jaffe (Henry Holt). Reviewed by
Shmulie Zytman
'Mireleh was different from her sis
ters. Her two sisters had hobbies
with which they were busy, but
Mireleh had none. She loved her
father very much and waited every
day for him to come home.
One day, her father asked each
daughter how much she loved him.
Mireleh answered, "Father, I love
you the way meat loves salt." These
words caused Mireleh's father to
drive her from her house.
As she walks the countryside,
Mireleh meets a stranger who gives
her a magical stick. When she uses
this stick she can do anything or
have anything she wants.
Mireleh wants to go to the wed-
ding of a rabbi's friend, but since
she is considered a pauper she
cannot go. She uses her magic stick
and this causes fancy clothing and
a chariot to appear.
This story is a Jewish Cinderella
story. The rabbi's son says, "Who-
ever this shoe belongs to I will
marry," similar to Cinderella.
On her wedding day, Mireleh
tells all the cooks not to put any salt
in the food. This will help her find
her father.
There is a good flow to the story
and it keeps your interest. The
reader feels sad for Mireleh for
being sent away. She is taken care
of by Elijah the Prophet and his
magic stick and is able to find hap-
piness again.
The fact that she finds happiness
allows the reader to continue and
enjoy the book. In the end, when

2/5
1999

74 Detroit Jewish News

Mireleh's smart idea helps her
reunite with her family, you feel her
happiness is complete. When you
finish reading the book you have a
feeling of joy and contentment.
The soft, pastel-colored pictures
create an effect of fantasy and
magic. Suitable for ages 5-8.

Shmulie Zytman, l 1, lives in
Brooklyn, \.Y., where he attends
Yeshiva Ahvas Torah. The eldest of
six children, he loves reading, tak-
ing photos and playing his Casio.

Terrible, Terrible!, a folktale retold
by Robin Bernstein, with illustrations
by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki (Kar-
Ben Copies, Inc.)
Reviewed by Natalie Lichtman
This book is about appreciating
what you have. In the story, there is
a young girl named Abigail whOse
mother gets married to a man who
has his own children. She gets four
new stepsisters and stepbrothers.
While many would think it would
be fun to get new sisters and broth-

At3gu,

ers, Abigail does not
like it at all because
her house is too crowded!
When she wanted an apple, some-
body already ate the last one. When
she wanted to watch TV, it was tuned
to a different channel. When she
wanted to use the bathroom, some-
body was always using it.
Abigail said to her mom and step-
father, "This house is too small;
every corner is stuffed with too

Natalie Rose Lichtman

many people and too much junk."
Her mom said, We can't afford to
get a bigger home."
Abigail said, "If I come up with
some ideas, will you try them?" Her
stepfather and her mother agreed .
So the next day, Abigail went to the
rabbi. She told her the problems
she had in her tiny house and
asked what she should do. The
rabbi asked if she had any bicy-
cles.
Abigail said, "Yes, we have
seven." The rabbi
said to bring them+
all into the house.
Abigail cried, "But,
rabbi, there is no
room!" She brings all
seven bikes into her
house and puts them in
many different places,
but her parents don't like
it at all. It was so crowd-
ed there was no room to
cook or read or bathe, the bikes
were in the way.
The next day, she told the rabbi
that it was worse than before. "It's
terrible, terrible, what should I do?"
The rabbi asked her if she had any
pets and she was told to bring her
three cats, two dogs, rabbit and
guinea pig in the house from the

.

back yard. "There's no
room! The house will splin-
ter into sawdust and
pipes," she said, but the
rabbi would not budge.
Her mom and dad were
not happy about this, but
they agreed to listen to
Abigail.
She went back to the
rabbi and said, "The dogs
bark; the cats meow;
we're smooshed together
like pickles in a jar; what
should I do?"
The rabbi said, "Do
you have any cousins?"
Abigail said, "Yes,
dozens."
The rabbi said to invite
them over and she did.
Well, can you guess what hap-
pens? The house becomes a real
zoo. After climbing over dozens of
cousins, she escaped through the
bathroom window to see the rabbi.
Abigail said, "I took your advice,
but it's terrible, terrible, worse than
before! The house is too crowded,
there's no room-for a toothpick
more.
The wise rabbi said, "Tell your
cousins to go home; take your ani-
mals outside and walk your bicycles
back to the garage. Find your fami-
ly and cook a meal together."
It was amazing what a difference
it was. Her house seemed so big.
Abigail learned that what she had
started with was the greatest family
of all. She learned that having so
many people in her family was not
so bad after all.

Natalie Rose Lichtman, 8, lives in
Farmington Hills with her mom and
dad, Suzanne and Gary, her dog
Casey, her cat Snickers and one
goldfish. She is in the second grade
at Highmeadow Common Campus
and enjoys reading, writing and
swimming on the Woodbrooke Hills
swim team. She belongs to Temple
Beth El.