A Mountain of Blintzes

A MOUNTAIN OF BLINTZES was a fun book filled with Amelia Bedelia sorts of non-sense. The story has two parents agreeing to do extra work in order to buy things for the Shavout dinner, but in the end they depend on the other holding up their end of the bargain, when in fact neither does. The children though, save the day.

Some parents are obviously not going to like the aspect of the story where the parents aren't reliable. But kids are likely to ignore that and focus on their representatives being the heroes and saving the day. (It should be noted that the parents did not do anything selfish. They spent the money on their children and on other things needed for the Shavout dinner.)

The biggest problem I had with the book was the use of proper names for momma and pappa. Given that there's a large family it makes for an initially confusing read for young children. Particular as in many households adults aren't called by first name. (If you switch out momma and pappa for Sarah and Max I think it works better.)

This is an okay book. The production quality is high, but it's a story that's not going to work for every child or family. ( )

In this humorous story of Jewish life in New York State's Catskill Mountain resort region in the 1920's, a poor family finds a way to celebrate Shavuot. The characters and action recall the traditional tales of Chelm. ( )

Picture book story for Shavuos (it's hard to find Shavuos stories!) based on the Chelm story, which Steve Stanfield told in Strudel, Strudel, Strudel. ( )