Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children’s
Literature
Translator: Miriam Udel
Publisher: New York University Press, 2020
ISBN: 9781479874132
Illustrations: Paula Cohen
Photos: S. Seidler-Feller
Reading Ages: 10 - 18 years
Illustrations: Paula Cohen
Photos: S. Seidler-Feller
Reading Ages: 10 - 18 years
Genre: Children’s Stories and Poems, Children's Jewish Fiction Books, Anthology.
Topic: Yiddish Stories and Poems for Children.
5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁
The title refers to the sweetness of the Torah; which is a cute play on words. A taste of honey was also part of a custom of introducing
children to education.
“Around the 12th century, a custom developed in Germany of
bringing a child to school for the first time on Shavuot.” “And the rabbi puts
a little honey on the slate and the child licks the honey from the letters with
his tongue. And then they bring the honey cake upon which is inscribed 'The
Lord God gave me a skilled tongue to know…”
(Isaiah 50: 4-5)
~~ David Golinkin, The Jerusalem Post
(Isaiah 50: 4-5)
~~ David Golinkin, The Jerusalem Post
There are several interesting references to this custom and similar ones like it.
“A child who licks honey
from a slate and who eats honey cake and a hard-boiled egg on the first day of
school will immediately understand that the
Torah is ‘as sweet as honey.’"
~~ David Golinkin, The Jerusalem Post
~~ David Golinkin, The Jerusalem Post
Critical Analysis:
In my opinion, we need more people interested in saving the past literary works of our cultural expressions.
"An extensive collection of Yiddish literary texts for children translated into English, this anthology contains works from familiar as well as not so widely known Yiddish language writers... [A] comprehensive and valuable set of stories and poetry."
~Kirkus Reviews
Accuracy: Miriam Udel is an associate professor in German Studies at the
Tam Institute of Jewish Studies at Emory University.
"A modern classic of Jewish children’s literature.
Miriam Udel has opened
wide the treasure chest of
Yiddish tales for the young,
and parents and children of all ages are in her debt."
~~Jeremy Dauber,
Atran Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture, Columbia
University
Organization: I had no problem finding my way around the collection of stories and poems.
“Arranged thematically―from school days to the holidays—the book takes readers from Jewish holidays and history to folktales and fables, from stories of humanistic ethics to multi-generational family sagas.”
~~ New York Press Publishing Reviews
Design: The design gives you something of an European old-world tradition and attitude to the work, which works well with the poems and stories.
"There is much in this wonderful collection for Jewish parents who want to give their children a taste of Jewish folk culture. But what stands out are the tales emphasizing the radical Jewish heritage that is inseparable from the linguistic culture that is Yiddishkeit, the inflections of which are faithfully cap- tured in Udel’s translations: stories about Labzik, the proletarian puppy (by the great Khaver Paver); about a child whose willingness to sacrifice all his toys for the sake of peace convinces the ruler of his country to give up war (“A Boy and His Samovar”); and about birds who refuse to sing until all the caged birds in their city are freed (“The Birds Go on Strike”). Udel’s excellent introduction and her selections from out-of-print books and magazines published throughout the Jewish diaspora provide a fascinating survey of Yiddish children’s literature.
~~Julia L. Mickenberg, author of American Girls in Red Russia
Style: I think the style is simple enough to follow along and enjoy
for most readers, although there might be some references to Yiddish and Jewish
culture that might be missed by those not particularly familiar with the
customs.
"Parents will read stories from Honey on the Page aloud until their children can read by themselves, and most stories are simple, yet clever and subtle enough for every age." ~~Atlanta Jewish Times
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