Yiddish Folktales

by Beatrice Weinreich and EDITED BY BEATRICE SILVERMAN WEINREICH

Book Overview

Filled with princesses and witches, dybbuks and wonder-working rebbes, the two hundred tales that make up this delightful compendium were gathered during the 1920s and 1930s by ethnographers in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679730974
• ISBN13: 9780679730972
• Release Date: September 1990
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 413 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Would make excellent bedtime stories for children

This is a great read. Many tales have similarities to standard fairytales, but they have a wonderful richness not found in the usual blanded-down stories. The book has 178 stories, some as short as a half-page, so it's also great if you only have short snippets of time. My husband and I enjoyed this book for ourselves, and will definitely read these tales to our future children. I cannot recommend this more strongly

Seemingly simple folktales with a deeper meaning

This book is a treasury of Yiddish folktales just like my grandfather used to tell us. They seem simple and obvious at times but they always contain a deeper interpretation when considered through the eyes of our ancestors and their concerns. The tales are thought provoking at times and humorous at others. My only wish is that there were more allegorical tales which are my favorite, also, it might be nice to have a little author commentary on the origins and meaning of each or even just the major lessons. The artwork- jewish folk art is also beautiful and fitting. Altogether a great book for bedtime stories!