Ellis Weiner

This shark tooth sharp meat cleaver of a political satire, Yiddish with George and Laura, depicts George and Laura as if they were Dick and Jane. A decidedly Yiddish Dick and Jane. And by Dick I'm not talking Cheney; rather, the monosyllabic, pithy Dick, of the picture-book Dick and Jane fame, an educational classic as once beloved among wholesome, 1950s-era American kindergartners, as Elmo is now amongst today's Sesame Streetwise kindergartners just learning to read.

"See George. He ... is a show more big shmegegge!"

Yiddish with George and Laura comes replete with an abridged, very selective, Yiddish dictionary of terms in the index, so that children can also learn what certain Yiddish words mean in their respective George-and-Laura-political-and-I.Q.-contexts, and thereby be better equipped to engage the schmucks (and both their literal and political offspring) should they inevitably encounter the nefarious epes a nudwik out there in the real world.

The Yiddish dictionary also provides the proper saliva-spraying pronunciations for each Yiddish entry. Kleenex, however, are sold separately.

Yiddish words like farshlugginer, finagler, farbissenah and farklent are some of my personal favorites, especially when they're used lampooningly in a George and Laura (and even Jeb!) context. How awesome is it that with this book, you can finally teach your precious children how to drop "F" bombs on George and Laura all day -- in Yiddish! -- and it's okay! Because Yiddish "F" bombs don't have the same shameful, societal stigmatized, pejorative connotations that English "F" bombs do -- and, in fact, are actually considered appropriate exclamatory declarations often heard in synagogues throughout the world! Yiddish "F" words! What good clean fun for the whole family!

My family values Yiddish with George and Laura immeasurably. We think it's genius. I hope your family will discover its skewering political commentary on that bastardized and beyond-abusive and non-law abiding Bush League Presidential Administration very soon too! show less

If you like books about clever children who foil villains, books with narrators who have quite distinct personalities of their own, and recipes for meatloaf, you'll enjoy The Templeton Twins Have an Idea, the first book in a promised series of stories about the Templeton family (twins Abigail and John, 12, inventor father Elton, and ridiculous dog Cassie).

The book is quite suitable for the middle grade reader, one who already has some confidence in reading. The narrator often addresses the show more reader with (rhetorical) questions or to comment on the plot, which invites the reader to think critically about the story-telling techniques. The narrator also introduces new vocabulary and concepts and explains them, and in the sort of obvious and over the top way that makes it funny for both those who are already familiar with the words and those who haven't encountered them before.

As an adult reader, I really enjoyed the book. It was funny and fun, and I liked trying to figure out what would happen next based on clues the narrator leaves. The book is printed to resemble a blueprint in many places, which I thought was really cool - plus, the dark blue text was easy on the eyes! Some pages are white while others have the blue tinge of carbon copies, and some are outright blue with white text and illustrations. In fact, there are a lot of illustrations throughout the book - even inside the text itself (such as portions of dialogue being written in white on blue speech bubbles, or onomotapoeia being drawn out in a suitable style). I feel like the illustrations not only add to the whimsy of the book, but make it friendlier for the younger readers.

That the narrator talks directly to the reader and can be a bit arrogant and sarcastic might not be appealing to everyone, or could be confusing to some. But I thought it was funny and made an otherwise fairly standard story much more interesting. I'd say that the book is in the same family as the Series of Unfortunate Events, but softer and for younger readers. I'd also liken it to The Stinky Cheese-Man, and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, but in chapter-book form instead of picture-book form.

I have a 7-year-old nephew that I will pass my ARC to. He's not a very strong reader, as English is his second language, but he loves to read and really enjoys books like The Templeton Twins Have an Idea. I think he'll really like it, though he may need help with some words. It would be the perfect book for him to read with his parents at bed-time, though. show less

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

It was a fairly entertaining story and some colorful characters might stimulate interest. Unfortunately, they are embedded within a relentless diatribe meant to appeal to sarky know--it-alls. The narrator is way too pedantic and ridiculous. There appears to be no safe harbor from his attempts to hijack the story. As a result the story and the characters suffer, when they should have been weighted a lot more than the egotistical, humor show more device of the "bitter author". This sarcasm is all the book has to offer and it is played upon excessively. So, unless you like constant derision and condescension over actual plots and people, this book may not be for you. I think children will either be bored or insulted or both. show less

This is actually a pretty clever parody of Dune. Not only does it parody the story itself, it also parodies Herbert's style of writing. If you have read Dune, you will see how it is parodied in here. Frank Herbert's writing could get pretty heady at times, and this book spoofs that with how some of the phrases are written. One phrase that stuck out to me was 'brain-filled mind' and that made me laugh. The aping of Herbert's multilayered storytelling really does tickle me.

Things in Dune are show more swapped with parodic counterparts.

Bene Gesserit - Boni Maroni (an ancient cooking order)
Shaddam - Shaddap
Harkonnen - Hardchargin (in Doon, the Baron is introduced by the act of him strangling a kitten. No, really)
Stillsuit - Sweatsuit
Spice - Beer
Sand - Sugar
Sandworm - Pretzel
Blue in blue eyes - Red in red eyes

I wonder if at least some of the parts of this book was written when the author was stoned - not that I'm complaining. As a die-hard fan of Frank Herbert's Dune, I found this a rather enjoyable spoof. show less