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