Picture of author.

Barbara Cohen (1) (1932–1992)

Author of Molly's Pilgrim

For other authors named Barbara Cohen, see the disambiguation page.

38 Works 5,813 Members 89 Reviews 1 Favorited

Series

Works by Barbara Cohen

Molly's Pilgrim (1983) 2,418 copies
Canterbury Tales [adapted by Barbara Cohen] (1988) — Translator — 429 copies
Thank You, Jackie Robinson (1974) 426 copies
The Carp in the Bathtub (1972) 281 copies
Make a Wish, Molly (1994) 234 copies
Here Come the Purim Players! (1984) 116 copies
The secret grove (1815) 103 copies
The Christmas Revolution (1987) 90 copies
First Fast (1900) 85 copies
The Donkey's Story (1988) 72 copies
Unicorns in the Rain (1980) 71 copies
Even Higher (1987) 68 copies
The Binding of Isaac (1978) 50 copies
Robin Hood and Little John (1995) 49 copies
Gooseberries to Oranges (1982) 43 copies
King of the Seventh Grade (1668) 43 copies
I Am Joseph (1980) 40 copies
David: A Biography (1995) 36 copies
The Orphan Game (1988) 31 copies
Roses (1984) 28 copies
213 Valentines (1991) 26 copies
The Long Way Home (1990) 23 copies
R My Name is Rosie (1978) 21 copies
Bitter Herbs and Honey (1976) 21 copies
People Like Us (1987) 21 copies
Tell Us Your Secret (1989) 20 copies
The Innkeeper's Daughter (1979) 18 copies
Benny (1977) 16 copies
Queen for a Day (1981) 16 copies
The chocolate wolf (1996) 12 copies
Fat Jack (1980) 8 copies
Lovers' Games (1983) 6 copies
Lovely Vassilisa (1980) 5 copies
Coasting (1985) 4 copies
Where's Florrie? (1976) 3 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Other names
Cohen, Barbara Nash
Kauder, Barbara (birth name)
Birthdate
1932-03-15
Date of death
1992-11-29
Gender
female
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
Places of residence
Somerville, New Jersey, USA
Education
Somerville High School
Barnard College (AB, magna cum laude|English)
Rutgers University
Occupations
children's book author
teacher
short-story writer
columnist
Organizations
SAAS
Awards and honors
Phi Beta Kappa
Short biography
Barbara Kauder said she started writing as soon as she could hold a pencil. Her father died when she was young, and her mother supported the family by turning a rundown hotel into a successful business. After Somerville High School, Barbara attended Barnard College, from which she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in English. She began her writing career with a personal column in her stepfather's weekly newspapers. In 1954, she married Gene Cohen, with whom she had three daughters. Her husband joined her mother in running the family inn, while Barbara earned a master's degree from Rutgers University and taught high school English. She was active in local community and Jewish life, and wrote a column called "Books and Things" for New Jersey newspapers. At age 39, Barbara Cohen published her first book for children, The Carp in the Bathtub (1972). The acclaim it received inspired her to stop teaching and start writing full-time. The book became a modern classic that has been translated into many languages. Barbara Cohen wrote a total of 32 books for children and young adults, many of them based on Jewish life and the universal problems of separation, loss, and the fears of growing up. Unicorns in the Rain (1982), a futuristic fantasy based on the Noah story, demonstrated her concern about the rising violence in society. Molly’s Pilgrim (1985), one of her best-loved tales, portrays a young Russian Jewish immigrant who shows her class the real meaning of Thanksgiving and religious freedom. The 1986 film version, frequently shown on television at holiday time, won an Academy Award for Live Short Subject. (Barbara played the crossing guard in one scene in the film.) In 1982, the Association of Jewish Libraries honored Barbara Cohen’s contribution to Jewish children’s literature with the AJL Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award. Some of her books were published posthumously following her death from cancer in 1992.

Members

Reviews

Sought this out for #disguisedasaboy queer/trans subtext, and it delivers.

To tell the truth, after twelve weeks among men only, after twelve weeks without ever looking at my own self, I'd almost forgotten I was a woman. That doesn't mean I thought of myself as a man. I was only me, Nasir.


The author definitely didn't understand the subtext she was putting down, the speed it was squashed. I would bet it's actually anachronistic that none of these rich boys has ever heard of homosexuality, although I don't have citations for this.

I found the beginning slow but it sped up considerably. Instead of discovering magic powers, the characters are learning about the obscure and mystical powers of capitalism. Not interesting to me at all, personally, but I thought it was well done - it's clear what Buran/Nasir likes about it.

It's interesting how learning Arabic has changed how I see some stylistic translation choices! "O my father" sounds super formal in English, at least in part because it's so polysyllablic, but when it's a literal translation of "ya abbi" and you know that ya is an indispensable part of speech, you can see how it could actually be just a normal and familiar way to talk.
… (more)
 
Flagged
caedocyon | 13 other reviews | Mar 11, 2024 |
Yeah I still love this book as much now as I did 18 years ago when I first read it.
 
Flagged
lexilewords | 13 other reviews | Dec 28, 2023 |
Independent Reading Level: Grades 2-5
Awards: None
 
Flagged
carly.whitaker | 29 other reviews | Nov 15, 2023 |
I really really liked this. I love stories based off of traditional tales, and even though I had never heard of the Iraqi folktale this book was based off it, I loved it.

It is a story of a girl who defies her culture's traditions, customs, and notions of a proper woman's place to make herself a success and save her family from poverty. It is also the story of love conquering all and being loved for who you are.

I need to look up the inspiration for this book.
 
Flagged
wisemetis | 13 other reviews | Dec 26, 2022 |

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Associated Authors

Wil Clay Illustrator
Trina Schart Hyman Cover artist, Illustrator
Trina Sebart Hyman Illustrator
Nevill Coghill Translator
Charles Mikolaycak Illustrator
Joan Halpern Illustrator
Martin Lemelman Illustrator
Anatoly Ivanov Illustrator
David Ray Illustrator
Daniel Mark Duffy Illustrator
Jan Naimo Jones Illustrator
Shoshana Mekibel Illustrator

Statistics

Works
38
Members
5,813
Popularity
#4,237
Rating
3.9
Reviews
89
ISBNs
157
Languages
2
Favorited
1

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