Lisa Shulman

This book put a spin on the classic "Old MacDonald" song. This version introduces different types of tools, and it ends in an inception-like fashion where Old MacDonald has a farm in her wood shop. Speaking of, the Old MacDonald is this story is a female, which I thought was amazing. The illustrations create the fantasy about this book, and it's sing-song tendencies would make it a great interactive piece.
Media: gouache, pastel, and brown colored pencil

The Matzo Ball Boy, by Lisa Shulman, was another cute story that was created as a spin off from "The Gingerbread Man." One reason why I really enjoyed this book was the illustrations. I thought they were very fitting for the story because they were fun and silly just like the idea of a boy being made out of Matzo balls and running away. I also liked the multicultural aspect of it. The book is a representation of Jewish culture and traditions as it describes the Jewish holiday, Passover. The show more big idea of this book is someones desire for freedom and how it is never easy to obtain. show less

LFL find. Absolutely precious. Even my eldest, my most reluctant reader, picked it up, smiled throughout, and chuckled out loud at the ending. Pay attention to the details!

Even more precious to me and to my eldest, because my father had a complete woodshop before he passed, and we've all got memories & feelings that arise when we smell sawdust. But even if you don't have any knowledge of woodworking, you'll enjoy learning about it from this.

Avl. in many public libraries and archived on show more OpenLibrary.org. show less

This book is a great spin off of the classic gingerbread man story and I found it very enjoyable. I loved that the author incorporated Yiddish words into the story, educating the reader on Jewish culture and tradition. The lines, "run, run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the matzo ball man!" is repetitive so even young readers can join in on the reading of the story. As the matzo ball man is on his journey, he experiences different aspects of Passover, such as the preparation show more of the matzah, the seder, etc. This is a great educational and fun book for primary grades. show less