8 | JANUARY 28 • 2021 

for openers
Picture Book Parodies
T

hey say hindsight is 
20/20.
Thank G-d for that, 
right? I think we’re all glad 
to see that toothache of a 
year from the 
rearview mirror 
fast receding 
into history. 
There were a 
couple of per-
sonal gains last 
year, though. 
For example, 
last year I read more books 
(ahem … and watched more 
Netflix and ate more choco-
late and gained more weight 
…). One genre I happened 
to be introduced to last year 
was picture book parodies. 
Here are some of my favor-
ites:
• Move over, Cinderella! 
Now there’s Cinder Edna by 
Ellen Jackson, which tells 
the story of the girl next 
door, who also has evil 
step-relatives. Unlike Ella, 
Edna makes the best of it 
and is much more inde-
pendent. There are no fairy 
godmothers in this girl-
next-door’s life, so she hap-
pily buys a dress on layaway 
and takes the bus to the ball 
… The prince bores her to 
tears, but she bumps into 
the prince’s younger brother 
who’s into telling jokes, recy-
cling and adopted kittens. 
“Guess who lived happily ever 
after?”
• Perhaps Good Night Moon, 
which describes the peace-
ful, quiet bedtime routine 
of what’s got to be an only 
child (OK, rabbit) while the 
unrushed mother calmly 
knits in the rocking chair 
and whispers “hush” doesn’t 

quite resemble bedtimes 
at your house. Welcome to 
the bookshelf, Good Night, 
Bubbala by Sheryl Haft. This 
“joyful parody” describes 
the chaos when the extend-
ed family rocks up for some 
Chanukah celebrating at 
bedtime (“… there were two 
little bubbies schlepping their 
hubbies … and one dozen 
bagels and a pot of kneidels 
…
”) causing “Bubbala” to be 
illustrated bouncing around 
on his bed, most certainly 
experiencing the sugar high 
of his cheek-pinching grand-
parents.
• Oh, the Places You’ll Go
by Dr. Seuss has been a 
bestseller since its release in 
1990, has sold more than 10 
million copies to date and 
is a popular graduation gift. 
Now there’s a new doctor 
in the ward, and he serves 
up a healthy dose of reality. 
Attributed to “Dr. Suits,” 
Oh, the Meetings You’ll Go 
To describes in frank tones 
what happens to even the 
smartest grads and valedic-
torians out there. (“Despite 
your clear brilliance, you won’t 

be the top. And bleary 
and weary, you’ll work 
till you drop…” “Some 
meetings are loud and 
some induce groaning, 
sometimes you’ll get 
tired of the PowerPoint 
droning…”)
• If you’ve always 
found it hard to relate 
to the birds in Are You 
My Mother?, try read-
ing Are You My Uber? by 
Sarah Amelia Dooley. 
(“He looked up. He did not 
see it. He looked down. He 
did not see it. I will go and 
look for it, he said. And 
away he went …”) The poor 
fellow did not know what 
a Ford Taurus looked like 
though, so he walked right 
by it. Don’t worry, he did 
get to his location in the 
end; there’s always a happy 
ending in (most) children’s 
books. 
• Everyone knows a cook-
ie alone doesn’t do the trick 
anymore; now if you want 
a moment of peace, you 
have to give a mouse some 
mind-numbing technology 
… What’s the worst that can 
happen? You’ll find out in 
If You Give a Mouse an iPhone
by Ann Droyd. (“If you give a 
mouse an iPhone, he’s not going 
to ask for a cookie. Or a glass 
of milk. Or anything at all. In 
fact, he won’t hear a word you 
say.”) Spoiler alert: things go 
south really fast when the 
battery runs out!
I love the twists, the fun 
and the endless possibili-
ties of these picture book 
parodies! There’s even a life 
lesson in there: If you don’t 
like the original ending, just 
rewrite your own! 

Rochel 
Burstyn

letters

Jewish Working 
Women’s Network
I was so happily surprised 
to read the article in the Jan. 
7 edition of the Jewish News
“The Art of the Dance” (page 
33) where Danny Schwartz 
reported that Cheryl Widener 
reached out to Shanon Stibor 
through a “Facebook Jewish 
women’s networking group.” 
We were able to confirm 
via Cheryl that the two 
met through the Jewish 
Federation’s Women’s 
Philanthropy “Jewish 
Working Women’s Network” 
Facebook page. The Jewish 
Working Women’s Network 
(formerly Jewish Working 
Women’s Series) started in 
the early 2000s by community 
leaders who were looking for 
relevant programming for 
Jewish working women living 
in Metro Detroit. The JWWN 
Facebook page now has over 
1,400 members currently and 
grows daily! 
The Jewish Working 
Women’s Network’s mis-
sion is to provide engaging 
educational opportunities, 
enriching programs and the 
chance to connect with other 
Jewish working women in 
our community. Through the 
Facebook page, we provide 
“Plug Your Business Tuesday” 
— where women can promote 
their own businesses and the 
opportunity to connect. The 
page also hosts community 
job postings, special events 
and highlights JWWN pro-
grams. We often hear stories 
where women, like Cheryl 
and Shanon, have developed 
meaningful connections. We 
invite any Jewish woman 

VIEWS

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