Such a Library!: A Yiddish Folktale Re-Imagined

Description

“The story opens in a shtetl. A man seeks advice from his rabbi because his house is too noisy and tiny. The rabbi encourages him to fill the house further with all his farm animals, but the situation just becomes worse. His relief comes when the rabbi tells him to take out all the animals, and his house is as quiet—or loud—as before.

The re-imagined tale then opens on a modern library setting with a boy named Stevie. He finds the noises in the library too distracting to read his book. Stevie complains to the librarian, Miss Understood, but instead of quieting everyone down, she opens up the books and out leaps zoos and circuses. The library is louder than ever before.

Such a Library!<.em> by Jill Ross Nadler is a modern twist on a Yiddish folktale. Esther Van Den Berg’s pictures add to the texture of the story. They are colorful and bright in the modern library, and sepia-toned in the old folktale. An author’s note at the end of the book gives readers more information about the distinctly Jewish story. The story contains a wonderful message about appreciating what you have“