Kish­ka for Kop­pel is a cap­ti­vat­ing fresh take on the clas­sic folk­tale teach­ing us ​“Be care­ful what you wish for.” A mag­ic meat grinder is the con­duit for giv­ing a poor Jew­ish cou­ple the real­iza­tion that despite their being poor, they do have a lot of things to be grate­ful for. Kop­pel and his wife, Yet­ta, con­tribute most of the con­ver­sa­tion in a light­heart­ed dia­logue. The author’s sense of humor gleams through­out, giv­ing a sense of com­e­dy to the events as they tran­spire. A glos­sary of Yid­dish expres­sions fol­lows the sto­ry, intro­duc­ing terms with which young read­ers may not be famil­iar. Aubrey Davis has writ­ten sev­er­al acclaimed sto­ries based on folk­tales includ­ing Bone But­ton Borscht and Bagels from Ben­ny. The love­ly acrylic illus­tra­tions by Shel­don Cohen are folksy, whim­si­cal, and filled with bright col­ors. They per­fect­ly com­ple­ment the light tone of the sto­ry. Rec­om­mend­ed as either a read-to for five to six year olds or as an inde­pen­dent read for sev­en to nine year olds.

Read­ing Guide