Eric A. Kimmel

A wise and beautiful princess must choose between three princely suitors in this Arab folktale, sending them on a quest to find the most wondrous thing, and declaring that she shall marry the one who returns with the greatest treasure of all. After a year's travel, the three princes (who are also cousins) meet up and compare their finds: Prince Muhammed has found a crystal ball that can show anything in the world, Prince Fahad a magical flying carpet, and Prince Mohsen a fragrant orange that show more can cure any illness. Together, these extraordinary objects allow the princes to discover that the princess is sick, to travel to her side, and to cure her. But this leaves the original question: who should the princess marry...?

According to Eric A. Kimmel's author's note, the story in The Three Princes: A Tale from the Middle East is one that can be found in many countries in the region, although the variant he first heard was retold to him by students from Saudi Arabia. It is apparently a story that was included in later versions of that fabulous collection of tales known as The Arabian Nights. Leaving aside its origins, this is a story that felt very familiar to me, as the central structure - three brothers (or cousins, in this case) being sent on a quest, and then meeting up again - is one I have seen in tales from many folk traditions. I enjoyed the telling here, and appreciated the conclusion, in which the princess gives her hand, not to the one who has brought the greatest wonder - how, after all, is she to decide such a thing? - but to the one who sacrificed his wonder. The accompanying artwork from Leonard Everett Fisher, who also illustrated Kimmel's Don Quixote and the Windmills, The Hero Beowulf and The Spotted Pony: A Collection of Hanukkah Stories, was striking, but a little dark, and I struggled to make out some of the details. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, and to readers interested in Arab lore. show less

Prolific picture-book author and folklorist Eric A. Kimmel teams up with Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Mordicai Gerstein in this collection of eight Hanukkah tales from the legendary village of Chelm, said in Eastern European Jewish folklore to be a settlement of wise fools. Some stories are taken from Yiddish folklore about Chelm, some taken from other folk traditions and transplanted to Chelm, and some are original. Here we have:

The Jar of Fools, which explains how Chelm came to be a show more town of fools, back in the days when God was creating different kind of souls, and sending his angels out to disperse them around the world. This is a retelling of a traditional Yiddish tale.

How They Play Dreidel in Chelm, which relates how the people of Chelm eventually erased the letters traditionally found on a Hanukkah dreidel. This story is original.

Sweeter Than Honey, Purer than Oil, in which Esther Goose sends her son to the market to buy chicken fat, in order to cook latkes, and he returns with a bucket of water. This is an adaptation of a folktale from another, unnamed tradition.

The Knight of the Golden Slippers, in which Motke the Fool is given some golden slippers as a reward for being the wisest man in Chelm. This too is taken from another, unnamed folk tradition.

Silent Samson, the Maccabee, in which the eponymous Samson saves the village of Chelm from an army of invading Cossacks, by having a debate involving only gestures. This is a retelling of a traditional Yiddish story.

The Magic Spoon, in which a stranger comes to Chelm, and shows the villagers how to make latkes "from nothing," using his magic spoon. This is adapted from another, unnamed folk tradition.

The Soul of a Menorah, in which a lost hayfork becomes a treasure menorah, through the unusual reasoning of the men of Chelm. This is an original story.

Wisdom for Sale, in which the people of Chelm attempt to purchase wisdom from the University of Krakow, only to learn their lesson after being repeatedly cheated by two students in that city. This is an original story.

I found The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories from Chelm to be an immensely engaging read, and chuckled aloud on more than one occasion, while perusing it. Many folk traditions make reference to a town or city peopled by fools - in England, there is the legend of 'The Wise Men of Gotham,' in Finland they speak of the Holmolaiset, the residents of Holmola - and Chelm (sometimes written as 'Helm') is the Eastern European Jewish example of the pattern. The stories included here were entertaining, highlighting the "wise fool" type quite well, and the artwork was colorful and engaging. I appreciated the inclusion of an afterword, explaining the origin of each story, although I would have liked it better, with the stories taken from other traditions, if those traditions had been named. The Magic Spoon is a clear adaptation of the French folktale of Stone Soup (with a somewhat different ending), but I wasn't sure about the others. Leaving that aside, this is one I would recommend to young folklore (or folk-style story) lovers, and to anyone looking for children's tales set at Hanukkah. show less

Elephant works industriously in his garden while that trickster spider Anansi watches, yearning after the melons he is too lazy to cultivate himself. When Elephant goes inside for a rest, Anansi eats his way into the ripest melon, but gorges so much that he is too fat to get out again. Convincing Elephant that his voice is that of the melon, that the melon can in fact talk, the trickster is carried along to the king, with a growing procession of animals accompanying him on his journey. When show more his sarcasm earns the king's ire, the melon is smashed and Anansi released...

Anansi and the Talking Melon is the second picture-book about this famous West African trickster figure that I have read from author Eric A. Kimmel and illustrator Janet Stevens, following upon their Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock. It pairs an amusing cumulative tale with expressive artwork that perfectly captures the humor of the story. The ending here, in which Elephant vows never to listen to talking melons again, only for Anansi, hidden inside a banana he is eating, to commend his choice, had me laughing out loud. It was such a pleasant and amusing ending to the story that I raised my rating from three to four stars. My only criticism of the book, and it is the same I made for Kimmel and Stevens' earlier book, is that no source material is given for this retelling, something I really look for in folkloric works. Recommended to Anansi fans, and to folklore lovers in general. show less

When mouse maiden Chuko asks her father to be allowed to marry Ko Nezumi the field mouse, her proud father at first refuses. As mice who live in the Japanese Emperor's palace, Father Mouse believes that they are special, and is determined to have only the greatest of bridegrooms for his daughter. Beginning with the Emperor himself, Father Mouse offers his daughter to various prospective grooms, only to continually discover that there is always someone greater, whether it be the sun, the show more clouds, the wind, or the wall. Eventually his search leads him to an unexpected but entirely appropriate match for Chuko...

According to author Eric A. Kimmel's brief author's note, the source material for The Greatest of All: A Japanese Folktale was Yoshiko Uchida's story, The Wedding Mouse, in the collection The Dancing Kettle and Other Japanese Folk Tales. This tale type, in which a father mouse seeks the grandest of all possible mates for his daughter, is one I have seen in multiple cultures, and encountered in various picture-books. Ed Young tells a Chinese version of it in his Mouse Match, whereas Ekkehart Malotki relates a Hopi version in The Mouse Couple. I have also seen a Mayan variant, retold by Judith Dupre in The Mouse Bride. It's interesting to see the same story retold by such geographically distant cultures! However that may be, I found Kimmel's telling here engaging, and I also enjoyed Giora Carmi's artwork. Recommended to all young folklore enthusiasts! show less