When the Chickens Went on Strike: A Rosh Hashanah Tale

by Erica Silverman

Book Overview

One Rosh Hashanah, a boy overhears some chickens planning a strike. They are sick of being used for Kapores, the New Year custom in which people swing a live chicken over their heads, hoping to erase their bad deeds. When all of the chickens run away, the women try to coax them back with grain, the men try to get them back with force, and the rabbi tries to negotiate. Finally the boy pleads, "Without Kapores, I will never be able to make my papa proud." A chicken responds, "Boychick, for this you need a chicken?" This amusing and telling story about wise chickens and foolish villagers will be enjoyed by anyone who has ever wanted to be a better person. adapted by Erica Silverman from a tale by Sholom Aleichem illustrated by Matthew Trueman

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525468625
• ISBN13: 9780525468622
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.3" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 5 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 4

Customer Reviews

Good Story for Rosh Hashanah

This is a nice story book about a Jewish boy in Eastern Europe trying to behave in synagogue and gets kicked out by his father. He needs to perform his kapores with his village using chickens. The chickens object to the treatment and ask for the tradition to be changed. What to do? How will kapores be performed?

"Chicken strike for the soul"

I loved this book. Not only did I learn a rather obscure & bizarre jewish tradition, I fell in love with the wonderful illustrations!Though I am a christian, I will enjoy sharing this book of jewish life and practice with my grandkids. A wonderful & culturally rich tale with delightfully engaging illustrations!

Great Pictures!

Being a new grandfather, I am getting back into books for children. The story is important, of course, and this is a cute story about a fascinating and rather esoteric bit of Jewish tradition...good as well as instructive for the children. But what makes this book are the illustrations! They grab you in the bookstore and make you want to buy the book. They wonderfully illustrate the simple little story, giving it depth and character that will fascinate the children long after the words are finished. Trueman's wonderful colors and technique give the characters life, despite a certain stylistic stiltedness that he obviously chose to accomplish his purposes with the book. Buy the book for the story, yes. But certainly buy it for the pictures!! Your kids or grandkids will have a ball...and so will you!

sounds good

although i haven't rad this book, yet it seems like one which you can have fun with because of it's characters yt you can get the moral of the story as well. you can also see a different perspective of how people think. i have heard many good things about this book and anyone who has time for a "fun/learned" read, shouls give this a try