Mrs. Kaputnik's Pool Hall and Matzo Ball Emporium

July 1, 2010
Gr 4–6—-migrating from Russia in hopes of reuniting with their father in America, Shoshi and Moshe Kapustin and their mother get renamed Kaputnik on Ellis Island. Their story would be placed squarely in the historical fiction genre if not for their pet dragon. Hatched from an egg acquired from a mysterious peddler, Snigger saves the family from a Cossack raid, but his presence raises fear in the superstitious villagers, and the Kapustins are forced to leave. This give-and-take of owning a dragon continues throughout the journey and in New York, where Snigger raises as much delight as trouble. Heavy on plot elements (the trials and tribulations of immigration, a gangster trying to shake down the neighborhood, a baseball rivalry between the oddly named Yoinkles and Slobbers), red herrings (is the man who helped get Snigger through customs in cahoots with the gangster?), and reappearing characters, there is never a proper balance struck between the whimsical and realistic moments. Even dragon lovers may find the humor falling flat.—"Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2010
Grades 3-6 With fantasy, farce, and also a strong sense of realism, this lively paperback, illustrated with small drawings, tells a story of Jewish immigration from the viewpoint of a child. Snigger, a small dragon, saves 10-year-old Shoshi, her little brother, and her mother from the Cossacks in Russia, and after the family makes it to Manhattans Lower East Side in 1898, Snigger helps them stand up to mean relatives and neighborhood thugs. But how will they find Papa? Why didnt he send for them for five years while they were in Russia or even answer their letters? Mama tries to start a restaurant, but her matzo balls are so hard that the Brooklyn Slobbers can use them as baseballs when they play at Nebbisch Field. The kvetching and quarrels, the wry Yiddish idiom, and the search for the father will bring the coming-to-America story to young grade-schoolers, who will also enjoy the little dragons defeat of the crooks, complete with the kids escape on Sniggers wings as he flies above the tenements where they live.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)