Shlemazel and the Remarkable Spoon of Pohost
Grade 1-3–In Yiddish, ashlemazelis someone who has no luck. So how can anyone blame Shlemazel for sitting around all day whittling? That is until clever Moshke the tinker gives him a remarkable spoon that changes his life forever. As the skeptical villagers look on, Moshke convinces lazy Shlemazel to take the utensil and search for his luck in a litter-strewn field, under a mountain of newly ground flour, and in the baker's batter. In the process, he plows the field, bags the flour, learns to bake, and meets his future wife. Employing a lively Yiddish cadence, the text is a storyteller's delight, full of humor, hyperbole, and delicious adjectives that make it a pleasure to read aloud. Jewel-toned panoramic watercolors are infused with a joyful folkloric quality well suited to the story. This clever folktale reminds readers that people make their own luck. Pair it with Isaac Bashevis Singer's Shrewd Todie and Lyzer the Miser, another wonderful spoon story, or A Shlemiel and a Shlimazel in Simms Taback'sKibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda Told Me(Viking, 2005).–Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.