Marilyn Hirsh

Originally published in 1976, and just reprinted by Marshall Cavendish this year, Marilyn Hirsh's The Rabbi and the Twenty-Nine Witches is taken from the Talmud, and concerns an ordinary village beset by extraordinary witches. Driven indoors every full moon by "twenty-nine of the meanest, scariest, ugliest, wickedest witches that ever were, the villagers turn to their rabbi, who comes up with a very clever way of ridding the town of these pests...

An engaging story, paired with Hirsh's show more somewhat scribbly (but ultimately charming) black and white illustrations, makes this an entertaining bedtime selection. Young folklore enthusiasts in particular will appreciate the tale. I do feel somewhat ambivalent about stories concerning the killing of witches, whether they be from Grimm, or from the Talmud, as I believe they are often a reflection of a terrible and violent misogyny. Still, they exist in many traditions, and I don't believe they should be edited out of existence. And children, of course, probably won't have any qualms at all. show less

Author/illustrator Marilyn Hirsh takes the folkloric story of the wanderer who creates a delicious dish from seemingly nothing - tale type 1548 in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther folktale classification system, it is most commonly known through such tales as Stone Soup - and gives it an Eastern European Jewish shtetl setting in this picture-book for Hanukkah. When Samuel the peddler stops as a house on the first night of the holiday, he finds that the potato pancakes (latkes) have not yet been show more made, because Grandma Yetta and Grandma Sophie each insist that their recipe be used. Fortunately, Samuel knows what to do, stepping in with his claim that he can make the potato pancakes from a crust of bread...

I enjoyed Potato Pancakes All Around: A Hanukkah Tale, which is the second title I have picked up from Hirsch, following upon her The Rabbi and the Twenty-Nine Witches. Originally published in 1978, it is, like many of Hirsch's books, long out of print, and was discovered by me on my public library's Hanukkah display. The narrative is engaging, and full of humor—I particularly liked the two grandmas' outrage at Samuel's antics—while the artwork, done in ink with gold and brown tone washes meant to suggest sepia photographs, has a vintage charm. The inclusion of a recipe for potato pancakes, as well as a brief note about the history of Hanukkah at the rear of the book was a welcome addition. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for fun Hanukkah stories featuring appealingly old-fashioned settings and artwork. show less

George is teased about the large mole on his face and so, even though he would like very much to join his neighbors in dancing, he goes to the woods to become a woodcutter. He happens upon a group of goblins who want to dance but can't, George shows them his dancing, they decide to remove his mole---the prettiest part of him---so that he will feel he must stay with them because now no one else will want to look at him, and are surprised when he doesn't return to them but instead joins his show more old neighbors in dancing, while still also remaining a woodcutter.
George's problem is solved, but the poor behavior of everyone else is unchanged. My first thought is this a missed chance to teach children about kindness and tolerance. But, on second thought, maybe this is a brilliant story about the way the world really works and George has figured out how to live in it. show less

I love Stone Soup stories and so I'm rounding up this funny & wise little tale to four stars. The art is old-fashioned and charming, too. Includes recipe and author's note about Hanukkah. Available to read free on openlibrary.org.