Chelm for the Holidays Paperback – Picture Book, August 1, 2019

Chelm for the Holidays is a collection of short stories about the silly people of Chelm, a fictional town in Poland. There is one story for each Jewish holiday, including Shabbat.While the reading level is officially pegged at 8-12, younger children (5ish and up) will certainly enjoy listening to the stories if an adult reads them. I read the 'The Bee Distracter of Chelm' (about Rosh Hashana) to my six year old son as a bed time story and he was able to follow along and enjoyed the absurdity. Which is exactly what I find so enjoyable about Chelm stories. Usually children's' books are filled with characters that always act appropriately and holiday stories are usually very prim and proper. Chelm for the Holidays captures the attention of young readers (and young listeners) because the characters are so obviously foolish and ridiculous. Children learn about the holidays and Jewish values from *not* doing what Chelmites do. The stories are fun and silly and don't come across as moralizing or educational even though there is plenty of exposure to Jewish concepts.My favorite story in this collection is 'Matzah Holes.' This tale is for Passover, and is about the town's efforts to make matzah for the upcoming seder. They each have their roles and everything is going fine until one Chelmite, Mendel, starts thinking (which is always dangerous in Chelm!) about the holes in a piece of matza. He can't figure out where the town gets those holes. He has a bag of flour, and the town has water, but no holes to add to the dough. The town baker notes that the holes just appear after the dough is pricked by a spiked wheel. To this Mendel says “But that’s impossible. Holes can’t just come out of nowhere. Don’t we have to buy them like flour?” It gets more absurd as more villagers get involved, but luckily, the town is able to come together to make matza, complete with holes thanks to a sack of holes provided by Caleb and Sarah, the town heroes.This is a great collection and I look forward to reading the other stories to my children throughout the year.

As if the title isn't enough to make you giggle, the stories themselves will have you LOLing. For those not familiar with Chelm folktales through books or storytellers including Isaac Bashevis Singer, you are in for a real treat. And if you're familiar with these wacky citizens, you'll find Chelm for the Holidays a fresh reminder of why we love these stories. Of the ten classics, it's hard to pick a favorite...although Heavenly Blintzes and Everyone's Tu B'shvat tickled my funny bone. Matzah Holes, however, has to be my favorite. What a hoot! This book would make a lovely gift especially for pre-adolesents. But readers of any age will find hearty chuckles--and a little wisdom--in these pages.