A Gefilte Fishy Tale

Funny rhymes and charming illustrations bring a family's pre-Shabbos predicament to life!

It's Friday morning and, as usual, Bubbe Judy has brought home a giant jar of gefilte fish-her grandson Jack's favorite dish-for the family's Shabbos meal. But something is wrong: the lid is stuck. Oy! That's when the excitement begins!

Bubbe, Zayde, and Jack-along with their dog, Butterscotch-schlep (drag) the jar all over town, seeking assistance from a dentist, a bodybuilder, an inventor, and other friends. But no one can unscrew that lid. Such tsuris (grief)! When aunts, uncles, and cousins arrive for dinner, they try to help, too. Giggles and groans fill the air as everyone takes a turn.

Will that lid ever pop off? Find out in this humorous, rhyming picture book for Shabbat, lightly sprinkled with Yiddish. More fun is inside with a recipe for delicious gefilte fish mini muffins, a new song for Shabbos, and a Yiddish-English glossary for the whole mishpocha (family)!

ALLISON AND WAYNE MARKS met in a class on The Canterbury Tales at the University of Cincinnati while finishing their degrees in English literature. Allison received her MLS from the University of Kentucky and worked for over two decades as a synagogue librarian. Wayne has worked as a proofreader and copywriter for most of his professional life. Allison enjoys reading, journal writing, and working in her urban garden. Wayne plays fiddle in local bands and writes novelty tunes in his spare time. In addition to A Gefilte Fishy Tale, the Markses are the authors of Og's Ark; The Art Lesson: A Shavuot Story (a 2017 Bank Street award winner); Benny Feldman's All-Star Klezmer Band (a Sydney Taylor Award notable middle-grade novel); the $150,000 Rugelach (an Entertainment Weekly best book of 2021); and Tizzy the Dizzy Dreidel. They live in Akron, Ohio, where they raised twins, Elliott and Claire.

Renée Andriani grew up in Connecticut and studied Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Working in an array of media, including pen and ink, pencil, dye, watercolor, and digital, she has illustrated numerous children's books for such publishers as Scholastic, HarperCollins, Dutton Children's Books, Simon & Schuster, Puffin Books, and Little, Brown & Company. She is the illustrator of five additional picture books for MB Publishing: Paris Hop!; Rome Romp!; A Home for Hope!; No Naptime for Janie! A Hanukkah Tale; and Bunny Romero's White House Adventure: The Whole Megillah! Renée's work also appears in magazines and on Hallmark's Shoebox greeting cards. An avid hiker and cookie baker, she draws inspiration from doodling in her sketchbook, being outdoors, and hanging out with funny people.