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why I have

the 'best

dad

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Jenna Goldberg of Wixom
Age 81'2 years old

Jenna submitted why she has
the "Best Dad" and won a

CARL STEM

HABERDASHER

in Birmingham

I have the best dad because he (and my mom) had to go to
Russia to get me. I turned two the day he became my forever
dad. He drives me places, helps me with my homework, plays
with me and my dog and rabbit and comes to all my baseball
games and dance recitals. He keeps me safe. He named me
after his father and his grandmother. I am so lucky that he is
my dad. I am very special to him and he is very special to me.
He is the best dad in the world.

Thanks to all who submitted why they also have "The Best Dad"!!!

6/23

2005

36

AppleTree

NICE LITTLE PLOTS from page 35

If, however, you're looking for a nice
Jewish book, pass this up. Were it not for
the fact that Nicole mentions she's
Jewish (she never discusses celebrating a
single Jewish holiday or doing anything
even remotely Jewish), no one would
know it. That's disappointing, consider-
ing the fact the book starts out with the
Holocaust.
Some curious gaps exist, as well.
There's no mention of how Nicole man-
aged to remain hidden during the Nazi
occupation (this part of the story forms
just a brief part of the book, and teens
probably would have enjoyed knowing
more), or where she got the money to
come to America.

Cassie's Sweet Berry Pie: A Civil War
Story by Karen B. Winnick. Copyright
2005, published by Boyds Milles Press
Inc. (815 Church St., Honesdale, Penn.,
18431, or www.boydsmillespress.com ).
Hardback. 34 pages. $16.95.
This book is quite nice all by itself.
But what is most intriguing is what you
don't know before reading: Cassies Sweet
Berry Pie is based on a true story involv-
ing a Jewish family during the Civil War.
Now meet Cassie.
As the story begins, Cassie is eating
hard-to-find huckleberries and making a
pie. Her younger brother and sister,
Willie and Saralyn, are jumping on the
bed; her mother is out helping care for
wounded soldiers at the hospital, and
Cassie's father is off fighting for the
South.
Suddenly, there's a knock on the door.
It's a neighbor, and he has a warning:
"It's Yankees. They're on foot, coming
through the woods. They'll be here
within the hour."
Cassie, Saralyn and Willie decide to
stay at their home, rather than trying to
escape. Cassie knows "I have to be the
brave one." If the Yankees come, what
will they want? Cassie looks around the
room. Food. The children grab the pota-
toes and turnips and beans, Mama's
linens and shove everything under the
bed.
But then Willie and Saralyn see those
yummy huckleberries and, well, they get
a bit diverted. In no time, their faces are
stained. And that gives Cassie an idea.
Cassie tells Willie and Saralyn to jump
in bed. She turns up the fire.
So what happens?
What would be the fun if you found
that out here!
Rest assured, though, it's a clever end-
ing. Winnick both wrote and illustrated
this wonderful book. Children who
already love history won't be able to
resist it, while even those boys and girls
who think experiencing "the old days"

means watching a black-and-white TV
will be intrigued. It's well written, terrifi-
cally illustrated and, best of all, a corn-
pelling story.

Sholom's Treasure: How Sholom
Aleichem Became A Writer by Erica
Silverman, with illustrations by Mordicai
Gerstein. Copyright 2005, published by
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (www.fsgkids-
books.com). 40 pages. Hardback $16.
Oy. Young Sholom has more prob-
lems than any character on any soap
opera. Ever. His stepmother is cruel. His
teachers are cruel. His classmates are
cruel. His grandmother is cruel. What
on Earth is going to get this poor child
through?
Laughter.
Sholoms Treasure is the story of a little
boy who doesn't have such an easy time
of it. He's bored in cheder, so he
becomes the class clown and specializes
in imitating the teacher's wife. "The
teacher scolded, smacked, pinched and
whipped him, but once Sholom had
found a way to make people laugh,
nothing could stop him."
Then a partner of Sholom's father
steals the business, and Sholom and his
family must leave Voronko. But life in
Pereyaslav is no better. Sholom's mother
dies, and his father is left with 12 chil-
dren. Sholom must take a job, then
returns home to a stepmother who
screams at him.
"Sholom hated the stepmother's con-
stant scolding, but he was fascinated by
her curses and her clever way with
words. Eat? May worms eat you! Yell? Yell

your teeth out! Sleep? Sleep on live coals!
"Sometimes she cursed in rhyme: May
you ache and break! Peak and pine and
split your spine!'
Sholom begins to write his stepmoth-
er's words down. Then his father discov-
ers it. And his stepmother hears it. But
instead of being furious, she laughs.
So begins Sholom's writing career and
his new courage and his success at
school.
What fun. This book is iz The illus-
trations are simply amazing. Adults will
appreciate them for their craft; children
will appreciate them for their humor
(lots of nose-picking scenes).
Sensitive children may be disturbed by
the violent images, such as the references
to whipping and the stepmother's con-
stant cruelty to children. Yet these are
tempered with enough humor and bal-
anced by enough positive characters
(even the teacher comes 'round) that no
one will leave the book in tears.
Even if you're crazy enough not to like
Sholom Aleichem, you'll like Shothm's
Treasure. ❑