Room for Rent

When Sir Reginald Mouse disappears from his apartment, the neighbors in the building advertise his room for rent. One prospective renter after another comes to see the apartment but finds fault with one or another of the neighbors. The hardworking Ant finds the Hen lazy, the Rabbit criticizes the Cuckoo for abandoning her young, the Pig finds the Cat beneath him because of her color (and is roundly chased out by the neighbors for his racism), and the Nightingale thinks the Squirrel just a noisemaker. At last the Dove arrives, bringing with her an eye for the good and restoring an atmosphere of peace.

This simple classic has been the bestselling children's book in Israel for fifty years. Now English-speaking children have access to its Jewish wisdom, given over with gentle charm.

Leah Goldberg, born in Konigsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), in 1911, moved to Mandate Palestine in 1935. Well known during her lifetime as a poet, author, and translator, she is remembered as one of Israel's great authors and literary scholars. She earned a PhD in Semitic languages from Bonn University and headed Hebrew University's Department of Comparative Literature until her death in 1970.