The BiG Story
But I Waaaannt It! by Dr. Laura
Sthlessinger, illustrations by Daniel
iMcFeeley (Cliff Street Books;
$15.95).
I There's nothing specifically Jewish
:about this book, but it's by Dr. Laura
1 Schlessinger ("Dr. Laura" to friends
and foe alike — numerous as they
Illustrated y Oniel McFeeley,
are in both camps) and she's every-
I where, so you can be sure her book
I will be, as well.
1 Here's the story:
In the beginning: Boy goes with
:Mom to buy toy for friend. Boy wants
I all the stuffed animals for himself.
The denouement. Boy gets toys
(Mom is going to teach Boy a valu-
e able lesson).
1 The conclusion: Boy realizes lots of
1 new things don't make him happy.
1 He donates his stuffed animals to a
1 children's shelter. (Ahh, gee ...)
Dr. Laura isn't exactly known for her
:subtlety. If she called me for advice, I
:would be honest.
"Dr. Laura," I would say. "Not every-
: one — and listen carefully, because
1 this means you — not everyone in the
:world can be a writer. If you can't get
I a more original plot and better illustra-
tions, do us all a favor and keep your
'comments on the air, not in a text
'where we'll have to see them again
I and again. Thanks for calling."
1 First He Made The Sun by Horn-
! et Ziefert, illustrations by Todd McKie.
(G.P. Putnam's Sons; $15.99).
Harriet Ziefert is something like the
Paul Newman of children's books:
1 She's got a lot of material out there
6/23
2000
96
Do you remember with fondness the
and whatever she does, it always
Pet Rock? Or how about the sup-
looks good. While each work may
posed trend of men wearing skirts
not be the most brilliant, this book is
(Phil Donahue actually did two shows
better than average.
First He Made the Sun is beautiful to 1 about it)?
If these are the kinds of ideas that
look at with its colors loud and clear
appeal to you, Vini-der-Pu is right up
and strong, which is exactly what
your
alley!
small children want. The animals
seem friendly and have that primitive
look that's inexplicably so popular
with artists who have spent half
their lifetimes in art school. It's the
kind of thing you're likely to look
at and say, "My kid could have
done that." Probably you're right,
but it's still charming and beautiful.
The text, of course, comes from
Bereshit, or The Book of Genesis,
which tells how God created the
world. But it also was inspired by
an African-American spiritual,
which is how you get a line like,
"Then He made the possum/And
then He made the 'coon."
Don't worry: The rhyming is not at
all annoying or forced as it can be in
so many children% books; it's clever. If
your children already know how God
created the sun, moon, animals and
people, they're not going to learn
anything by reading First He Made
the Sun. But not every book has to be
an encyclopedia. This one is just fun
and easy, pure and simple.
Vini-der-Pu: A Yiddish Ver-
sion of Winnie-the-Pooh trans-
lated by Leonard Wolf, illustrated by
I Ernest H. Shepard (Dutton Children's
Books; $18.99).
My Jewish Holiday Fun Book
written and illustrated by Ann D. Koff-
sky (Union of American Hebrew Con-
1 gregations Press; $6.95).
In a word: WOW!
Don't buy one — buy 100. Pass
1 them out to your children, your stu-
dents, your grandchildren. This book
is terrific.
Koffsky, a graduate of Yeshiva Uni-
versity's Stern College, and the UAHC
I Press are actually offering something
new and original and fun for Jewish
children. It's a collection of easy activi-
ties for Jewish holidays (color a place
mat for Shabbat, do a Sukkot maze,
play a Torah game on Simchat Torah,
unscramble the Four Questions for
I Passover). Best of all, many of these
ideas give children a chance to use
1 their own creativity — not just color in
But beware of the confusing text.
Here exactly is the idea: Winnie
1 the Pooh written in Yiddish transliter-
ation. It reads like this: A mol-a mol,
1 mit a longer tsayt tsurik, an erekh
I farakhtogn fraytik, hot Vini-der-pu
gevoynt in a void eyner aleyn untern
nomen "Sanders."
Do you see the problem?
If you don't know Yiddish, none of
this means anything to you.
If you do know Yiddish, you want to
read it in Yiddish, written using the
Yiddish alphabet.
already-drawn pictures — such as for
It's sort of like someone "translating"
1 Shavuot, when they are invited to
1 Tolstoy's War and Peace using the
:decorate Mount Sinai.
1 Russian alphabet to write out words
1 Additionally, this book includes a
as they would sound in English.
nice, easy description of each holi-
Get a grip, comrade.
day and a glossary at the back. It's
Someone must have thought he had
perfect for all ages — and not just
a really cute idea: Pooh and Yiddish.
children, either.
But realizing most people don't <now
Koffsky's previous works include My
1 Yiddish, he thought to publish it using
!Jewish Counting Book and All About
the alphabet we all know and love.
Passover. Let's hope there are more.
Perhaps late one night you've
chanced to see an old melodrama
Detroit Kids Catalog: A Family
where, upon learning of some incom-
1 Guide for the 21st Century by
prehensible situation, an actor throws
Ellyce Field (Wayne State University
himself on the ground, kicking and
Press; $15.95).
screaming, arms flailing, as he cries
out, "Why? Why? Why?"
'You want it. You need it. You must
Read Vini-der-Pu and you'll know
have it.
exactly how he feels.
I