THE ADVENTURES OF HERSHEL OF OSTROPOL

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kimmel, Eric, Retold. 1995. THE ADVENTURES OF HERSHEL OF OSTROPOL. Ill. by Trina Schart Hyman. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0823412105

PLOT SUMMARY
THE ADVENTURES OF HERSHEL OF OSTROPOL is a collection of Ten Yiddish folktales set in the 19th century Ukraine. In this version, Hershel is a wandering beggar who endears himself to the common folk by making pompous people look foolish. The ten different stories illustrate the elaborate stories Hershel told to trick people out of money in order to buy his family food. Hershel’s family was very poor, often times they only ate potatoes. He wanted to feed his family without working. Hershel’s uncle is tricked multiple times in to giving him money for his foolish plans which always ended up with a bountiful dinner for his family and his uncle’s pockets empty.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
These stories illustrate how a poor beggar was able to fool people out of their own money, during a time when many people were going hungry. The joy and wit of the story do not overshadow the references to daily poverty. This collection of short stories is easy to read and would be a valuable resource on a lesson about folktales. The illustrations at the beginning of each story show Hershel’s farcical interchanges with fellow characters. The black and white drawings have exquisite detail and help readers relate back to the original time and place of these stories.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
BOOKLIST: “With their wry idiom, these are stories for telling across generations.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Ten superbly retold Hershel of Ostropol tales”
HORN BOOK: “Each story is illustrated with humorous black-and-white drawings.”

CONNECTIONS
*This book would be excellent for a lesson about Yiddish folktales. It will allow students to connect with the trickster in themselves.
*Other stories about timeless tricksters:
Johnson-Davies, Denys. GOHA THE WISE FOOL. ISBN 0399242228
Kimmel, Eric. HERSHEL AND THE HANUKKAH GOBLINS. ISBN 0823411311
Kimmel, Eric. ANANSI AND THE TALKING MELON. ISBN 0823411672