Howard Schwartz (1) (1945–)
Author of More Bones, Scary Stories From Around the World
For other authors named Howard Schwartz, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Howard Schwartz is Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Works by Howard Schwartz
Invisible Kingdoms: Jewish Tales of Angels, Spirits, and Demons (Aesop Accolades (Awards)) (2002) 55 copies, 1 review
The Dream Assembly: Tales of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (Consciousness Classics) (1988) — Collected & Retold — 38 copies
Blessing Over Ashes 1 copy
Associated Works
More Wandering Stars: Outstanding Stories of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction (1981) — Contributor — 105 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1945-04-21
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Washington University in St. Louis (BA|MA)
- Occupations
- folklorist
poet
editor
author - Short biography
- Howard Schwartz was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Bluma (Rubin) and Nathan Schwartz, an antiques dealer. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor's degree in 1967, and a master's degree in 1969. In 1978, he married Tsila Khanem, a calligrapher and illustrator, with whom he had three children. He has been a professor of English at the University of Missouri since 1970. Schwartz is a noted folklorist, poet, author, and editor of dozens of books. He won the National Jewish Book Award in 2005 for Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism. He also has received the Aesop Prize from the American Folklore Society, the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, and the Sydney Taylor Book Award, among many others. His children's story Before You Were Born received the Koret International Jewish Book Award in 2006.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Places of residence
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Missouri, USA
Members
Reviews
Yosef is the oldest of seven children, and their mother is widowed. Yosef works hard all week to help support his family, resting only on the Sabbath Day. When his family inherits a fortune from a long lost relative, someone must travel to Egypt to claim the family's money. Yosef insists that God will protect him on the journey, and his mother agrees, moved by Yosef's faith. When the caravan driver goes back on his promise to Yosef's mother to halt travel on the Sabbath, Yosef chooses to show more stay behind and celebrate the Sabbath in the customary way. He is cold, lonely and scared, but he prays, and a Lion comes to him for protection and company during the Sabbath, and then sees him quickly and safely to retrieve the money and then to deliver it home. Yosef's story of the Lion is a favorite with his siblings and he is glad to tell the story on every Sabbath afterward.
This story offers a unique view into Jewish customs, traditions, and beliefs. I believe it is better suited for a Sunday school class than a read-aloud in a public school classroom, but it would be a nice addition to the school library for independent reading. It highlights the importance of faith in religion. show less
This story offers a unique view into Jewish customs, traditions, and beliefs. I believe it is better suited for a Sunday school class than a read-aloud in a public school classroom, but it would be a nice addition to the school library for independent reading. It highlights the importance of faith in religion. show less
A haunted bell, made from the armor of a cruel baron who was murdered by the peasants of his village, which foretells disasters. A beautiful woman whose suitors are flee from her, screaming, when she is alone with them. A school of magic with a terrible price. An angry mermaid that grants wishes that turn back upon the fisherman who angered her.
You'll find these and other frightening folk tales in More Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World by Arielle North Olson and Howard Schwartz. show more This book retells 22 stories from diverse places, such as Ireland, Germany, Egypt, Spain, Japan, China, and more.
This book is very much in the vein of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, though aimed at a slightly older audience, and with somewhat less frightening illustrations drawn by E. M. Gist. Also like that book, More Bones includes a bibliography listing the sources of the stories retold within. This is a nice feature, especially since the books are generally old enough to be in the public domain, like Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W. B. Yeats.
The stories are something of a mixed bag. Some of them are quite good, if simple, like "Youth Without Age" or "The Severed Head," while others are fairly dull, like "The Haunted Violin." There are more hits than misses, though.
Some of the artwork is close to being as frightening as that in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, though I don't like it quite as well. This may just be a result of nostalgia, though--the illustrations are good.
More Bones is a great book for someone who wants something a little more mature than Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and the bibliography will provide plenty of additional stories, for those who are interested. Definitely pick it up if you're interested in scary folk tales.
This review also appears on Barba Non DB. show less
You'll find these and other frightening folk tales in More Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World by Arielle North Olson and Howard Schwartz. show more This book retells 22 stories from diverse places, such as Ireland, Germany, Egypt, Spain, Japan, China, and more.
This book is very much in the vein of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, though aimed at a slightly older audience, and with somewhat less frightening illustrations drawn by E. M. Gist. Also like that book, More Bones includes a bibliography listing the sources of the stories retold within. This is a nice feature, especially since the books are generally old enough to be in the public domain, like Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W. B. Yeats.
The stories are something of a mixed bag. Some of them are quite good, if simple, like "Youth Without Age" or "The Severed Head," while others are fairly dull, like "The Haunted Violin." There are more hits than misses, though.
Some of the artwork is close to being as frightening as that in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, though I don't like it quite as well. This may just be a result of nostalgia, though--the illustrations are good.
More Bones is a great book for someone who wants something a little more mature than Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and the bibliography will provide plenty of additional stories, for those who are interested. Definitely pick it up if you're interested in scary folk tales.
This review also appears on Barba Non DB. show less
Very entertaining! Simple scary stories from around the world. I love that, under the title of each story, it states what country/region the story is from. While the reading level is at about middle grade, some of the content may not be. Some of these stories are pretty gruesome. Loved the artwork too. Great addition to the stories.
A collection "selected and retold by" [a:Howard Schwartz|43963|Howard Schwartz|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237548199p2/43963.jpg] and [a:Barbara Rush|419504|Barbara Rush|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and according to the notes these were originally in Hebrew, and have been collected primarily for Israel, Iraq, and Eastern Europe. The tales vaguely resembled folktales that are more commonly known from Germany, UK, & France show more but were a bit different. A quick read for a family, or for most independent readers 7 and up. 3.5 stars rounded up because it's fairly unique... the only other Jewish tales I've encountered are picture-books about golems, or the wonderful 398.2 tales by [a:Eric A. Kimmel|2602|Eric A. Kimmel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1507394162p2/2602.jpg].
I did particularly like the tale in which the mother rescued her children from the belly of the bear (not wolf) and put bread (not stones) in as replacement before sewing the beast back up. Happy ending for all! show less
I did particularly like the tale in which the mother rescued her children from the belly of the bear (not wolf) and put bread (not stones) in as replacement before sewing the beast back up. Happy ending for all! show less
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- 42
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- Rating
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