Beautiful Yetta: The Yiddish Chicken
PreS-Gr 2–As Mr. Flegleman, an organic chicken rancher, unloads his crates in front of Phil's Poultry World, one brave and clever fowl, determined not to become Friday night's dinner, manages to escape. Unfortunately, beautiful Yetta is homesick and lonely in Brooklyn. The rats and pigeons tell her to get lost, and she almost gets hit by a bus. When she saves a little green bird, Eduardo, from a cat, she gains new friends and a family among the parrots on the telephone wires, and they teach her how to find fruit and crusts of pizza. While the narration is in English, Yetta's dialogue is in Yiddish, and the parrots speak Spanish (both with English translations and transliterations). The comical marker and ink illustrations enhance the text, but, without the language gimmick, there isn't much to the story. However, this would make for an entertaining reader's theater, especially with authentic Yiddish and Spanish accents. And dedicated fans of the Pinkwaters will appreciate the offbeat, wry humor, as will those interested in the many urban legends surrounding Brooklyn's flocks of wild parrots. Unlike Dave Horowitz's Five Little Gefiltes (Putnam, 2007) and Simms Taback's Kibitzers and Fools (Viking, 2005), which introduce children to the joys of Yiddish, the Pinkwaters'offering may have trouble reaching a wide audience.Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL© Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.