The Matzo Ball Boy - Hardcover

Shulman, Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525471693 ISBN 13: 9780525471691

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2005

Synopsis

On the morning of the Passover seder, a lonely bubbe decides to make a matzo ball boy to keep herself company. Soon delicious smells waft from the bubbling pot, and when she lifts the lid to see if the matzo ball boy is done, out he jumps. "Oy!" she cries. "And where do you think you're going?" "I'm off to see the world, bubbe," replies the matzo ball boy. "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me. I'm the matzo ball man!" Before long a yenta and her children, a rabbi, and a fox are all on a mad chase to catch the matzo ball boy, ending with his hilarious comeuppance. The familiar tale of the gingerbread man is updated with a twist as savory as a brimming bowl of the bubbe's chicken soup.

About this title

About the Author

Lisa Shulman is the author of Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop, illustrated by Ashley Wolff.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4—This original tale based on the "The Gingerbread Man" misses its mark. An old bubbe is lonely because none of her children come for Passover anymore, so she makes a matzo ball boy who, of course, runs off, tempting a variety of characters from a shtetl-style village. He outsmarts the fox and swims across the river, but gets eaten in the end. The use of traditional Jewish expressions and guilt clearly speaks to an adult audience, with children likely to miss the humor altogether. The Yiddish terms are translated within the text, which is intrusive considering that there is a glossary in the back; plus, the real audience for this story is likely to know their meanings already. The inclusion of some information about the holiday and a pronunciation guide is nice, although unlikely to make the piece accessible to readers not versed in Judaism. The stylized, folksy cartoon art, with its colorful backgrounds and bell-shaped women chasing the rotund, matzo ball boy, is comical and fun. The entertaining illustrations are likely to appeal to children, but the overly long text and adult humor make the audience unclear. Naomi Howland's The Matzah Man (Houghton, 2002) does the same sort of thing more effectively, with more child appeal.–Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0525471693
• ISBN 13: 9780525471691
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Litzinger Rosanne