Sadie Rose Weilerstein (1894–1993)
Author of The Best of K'tonton
About the Author
Series
Works by Sadie Rose Weilerstein
Associated Works
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Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1894-07-28
- Date of death
- 1993-06-23
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Rochester
- Occupations
- children's book author
teacher - Short biography
- Sadie Rose was born in the USA to Jewish immigrant parents from Lithuania. She attended the University of Rochester, in one of the first classes to admit women, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1917. She then taught in the high school for the deaf in Rochester. In 1921, she married Baruch Reuben Weilerstein, a rabbi, and had four children. After first living in Brooklyn, the couple moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where they remained for many years. Sadie Rose Weilerstein became an active rebbetzin (rabbi's wife), serving in a variety of volunteer and service roles. In telling stories to her children, she was inspired to create the now-famous Jewish hero K’tonton. His debut in Outlook Magazine in 1930 heralded the beginning of a new genre of children’s literature: stories for Jewish children written in English. The first book version of The Adventures of K’tonton was published in 1935. By 1964, Sadie Rose Weilerstein had written 11 books, which were translated into several languages and her stories can be found in many children’s anthologies. She was twice awarded the annual Juvenile Award of the Jewish Book Council of America.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Rochester, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Rockville, Maryland, USA (death)
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
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Reviews
When a little gray and white kitten comes to the door on the day after Rosh Hashanah, K'tonton, a little Jewish boy no bigger than a thumb, asks his mother to give it some milk. Although she warns that this will bring the kitten back again, she does indeed feed it, and sure enough the kitten begins to return. Then K'tonton accidentally knocks over some honey and lets the kitten take the blame, leading his mother to shoo the feline visitor away and refuse to feed it, the next time it comes show more by. Consumed with guilt, the little thumbling attends Yom Kippur services, praying with the rest of the congregants. But always, at the back of his mind, is the awareness that repentance of wrongdoing is not enough: he must makes amends to the one he wronged...
K'tonton, whose name, meaning "very, very small," comes from the Hebrew word קטן ("k'tan," AKA "small"), is a character who first appeared in 1930, in the pages of the Jewish Women's League Outlook magazine. In 1935 Weilerstein published The Adventures of K'tonton, which contained multiple stories about this character, many of them featuring Jewish holidays. K'tonton's Yom Kippur Kitten appeared in that collection, where it was entitled How K'tonton Was Forgiven on Yom Kippur. Here, in this 1995 publication, it is presented as a picture-book, with artwork by Joe Boddy, who also illustrated K'tonton's Sukkot Adventure. The story itself is engaging, presenting the central theme of Yom Kippur - the repentance of wrong-doing, and the seeking of forgiveness through restitution - in an appealing, child-friendly way. I own a lovely vintage copy of the K'tonton collection, which I ran across in a used bookstore many years ago, and have always enjoyed the stories, so I knew going in that I would appreciate the text here. I was curious however, to see how I would like Boddy's accompanying artwork, done in black and white in what looks like pencil. For the most part I enjoyed it, although I wouldn't say it was the equal of Jeannette Berkowitz's illustrations, in The Adventures of K'tonton, which are truly charming. Although I would recommend K'tonton's Yom Kippur Kitten to readers seeking children's stories about Yom Kippur, I do think that if they can access the larger collection of K'tonton stories, that is to be preferred. Tastes vary, of course, and my preference is aesthetic, based upon the artwork rather than the text, so take that as you will. show less
K'tonton, whose name, meaning "very, very small," comes from the Hebrew word קטן ("k'tan," AKA "small"), is a character who first appeared in 1930, in the pages of the Jewish Women's League Outlook magazine. In 1935 Weilerstein published The Adventures of K'tonton, which contained multiple stories about this character, many of them featuring Jewish holidays. K'tonton's Yom Kippur Kitten appeared in that collection, where it was entitled How K'tonton Was Forgiven on Yom Kippur. Here, in this 1995 publication, it is presented as a picture-book, with artwork by Joe Boddy, who also illustrated K'tonton's Sukkot Adventure. The story itself is engaging, presenting the central theme of Yom Kippur - the repentance of wrong-doing, and the seeking of forgiveness through restitution - in an appealing, child-friendly way. I own a lovely vintage copy of the K'tonton collection, which I ran across in a used bookstore many years ago, and have always enjoyed the stories, so I knew going in that I would appreciate the text here. I was curious however, to see how I would like Boddy's accompanying artwork, done in black and white in what looks like pencil. For the most part I enjoyed it, although I wouldn't say it was the equal of Jeannette Berkowitz's illustrations, in The Adventures of K'tonton, which are truly charming. Although I would recommend K'tonton's Yom Kippur Kitten to readers seeking children's stories about Yom Kippur, I do think that if they can access the larger collection of K'tonton stories, that is to be preferred. Tastes vary, of course, and my preference is aesthetic, based upon the artwork rather than the text, so take that as you will. show less
Ten and a Kid follows a nice big Jewish family in Lithuania in the era before trains are common. Each chapter features a different member of the family or holy day, but it's the kid, a sweet little goat who mysteriously shows up at their doorstep, who brings good luck. This is a delightful book. The line drawings by Janina Domanska are outstanding illustrations.
The subtitle of Sadie Rose Weilerstein's K'Tonton in the Circus, a Hanukkah Adventure is slightly misleading. Only 8 of the book's 85 pages are centered on Hanukkah. But that section is well integrated into the rest of the story that details Ktonton's, a 4 inch tall boy's adventures, when he was taken to a traveling circus. If you haven't read any K'tonton book you are in for a treat. Weilerstein teaches Judaism, by intertwining Torah, haggadah, midrash, and even halakhah with other show more subjects, in this case the life of a circus. The reader learns about both, through the perspective of the boy who keeps kosher, says his prayers and even manages to celeberate Hanukkah with his newfound friends as the first Jewish person amongst them. There is even a reasonable (and Jewish) explanation why he seems so content and not missing his parents terribly. For a while.
A small line drawing of a circus animal by Marilyn Hirsh's starts off the chapters and she did a half or full page illustration for each of the 15 chapters. The book is not just educational in both areas (Judaism and circus life), but also a great and fun read. Enlightened readers might object to the living conditions and exploitation of the circus animals (and performers for that matter), but you might view the subject matter differently if you remember that it was written almost 30 years ago. show less
A small line drawing of a circus animal by Marilyn Hirsh's starts off the chapters and she did a half or full page illustration for each of the 15 chapters. The book is not just educational in both areas (Judaism and circus life), but also a great and fun read. Enlightened readers might object to the living conditions and exploitation of the circus animals (and performers for that matter), but you might view the subject matter differently if you remember that it was written almost 30 years ago. show less
K'tonton (meaning very, very little), the thumbsized son whose arrival blessed a couple late in their life, was introduced in this book by Weilerstein,and was followed by at least four others: in the circus, in Israel, Yom Kippur kitten, on an island in the sea. His miraculous birth was connected to Sukkot as the mother had to bite of the ritual etrog on the last day of the holiday to conceive. A few years later he climbs into the etrog box his father carries to the synagogue so he could see show more it for the very first time. Once there he gets out, marvels at its beauty, climbs on the top of the lulav, but gets discovered when his shrilling voices joins the prayers. That's about the whole storyline. A short glossary at the end helps to decipher the Hebrew words and phrases for the uninitiated. This feature and the sweet story makes it a good introductionfor children aged 3 to 6 to concepts like, etrog, hosahnot, lulav… Joe Boddy's black and white drawings are well integrated into the book. show less
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- Rating
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- 11
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