Can Hens Give Milk?

March 28, 2011
On this visit to Chelm, which in Jewish folklore is the hotbed for all things silly, readers meet Shlomo and Rivka, a kindly couple who have "five children, twelve scrawny hens, one rooster and not much money." Yearning for a little milk and cheese and unable to afford a cow, Shlomo engages in some magical thinking of the animal husbandry kind. Since cows eat grass, he reasons, "...if we feed grass to our hens, they will still lay eggs, but they will also give us milk." With help from six-year-old Tova, their brightest child ("bright" being a relative term in Chelm), the addlepated rabbi of Chelm, and plenty of skewed logic, everyone ends up a winnerâincluding the beleaguered hens. It's easy for Chelm stories to feel by-the-numbers or condescending toward their characters, but Stuchner (Josephine's Dream) and Weissman (Mom, the School Flooded) never fall into that trap. They forgo dwelling on Chelm's backstory, letting the goofy events speak for themselves through brisk, almost reportorial storytelling and genial cartooning. It's the literary equivalent of a merry winkâwhich is just what this genre needed. Ages 4â8.

January 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 3-Nonsense rules the roost in this tale set in the mythical village of Chelm. Schlomo and Rivka live on a farm with their five children and brood of chickens. One day Rivka expresses her wish for fresh milk and cheese, and that night Schlomo dreams about grazing cows. He tells six-year-old Tova about his dream and she deduces that if cows give milk because they eat grass hens will do the same if they eat grass, instead of grain. When they feed grass to their hens and no milk comes forth, Tova calls on the wise rabbi, who examines the hens and declares that they are regular chickens and not milk hens. Needing eggs of his own, he exchanges his goat and rooster for six of their hens. The goat gives milk, the hens return to their old ways, and the family is content- until Schlomo realizes that the goat is larger than the hens and falls asleep dreaming of the goat eating a mountain of grain and laying an enormous egg. Clever dialogue and zany characters lend a strong sense of storytelling to this tale. The family is lovingly portrayed, and Stuchner's comic, folksy text begs to be shared with groups. Weissmann's acrylic illustrations depict idyllic country scenes and extend the humor. With its silly characters and situations, this humorous tale will attract children like a chicken on a june bug.-Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011

An original tale takes readers to that nexus of foolishness, the village of Chelm. Shlomo and Rivka have "five children, twelve scrawny hens, one rooster and not much money." So they use simple logic: A cow gives milk because she eats grass, so if they feed grass to their hens, the hens will give milk. This is, of course, a Chelm story. Chelm, for those who don't know, is a village from Jewish folktales, populated by the most foolish people in the world. Stuchner is completely at home with the almost-logic of Chelm. (It may seem paradoxical to write a new traditional folktale, but it's very much in the spirit of Chelm.) As in the best of the traditional stories, every step of the villagers' thought process makes perfect sense. Readers might even find themselves thinking, "Why shouldn't hens give milk? It's only fair." Children will have a great time looking for the flaw in the argument. There are a few lulls, but Stuchner carries the gag through to a very amusing last page, in which Shlomo imagines a goat trying to hatch an enormous egg. Weissman's illustrations help to sell the joke: The goat just looks so content up there on top of her egg. The story is so successful in making the absurd seem obvious that readers may wonder why they didn't think of it themselves. (Picture book. 4-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 15, 2011
Grades K-2 In this original Chelm story, Shlomoa poor farmer with a wife, five children, a rooster, and 12 hensis inspired to facilitate the milking of a hen. Determined to make it happen, Shlomo and youngest daughter Tova try forcing the hens to eat grass (as cows do), but it only makes them hiccup and stop laying eggs. Finally, they call upon the wise rabbi of Chelm, who, unable to solve the problem, offers to trade one of his goats for 6 hens so that he can have eggs. Weissmanns naive-style cartoons emphasize the endearing but clueless characters and are perfectly suited to Stuchners absurd text (relayed matter-of-factly, allowing listeners to savor their superior knowledge). Setting and clothing details suggest the Eastern European village of Jewish folklore, although the story provides no background. Children will especially enjoy the hilarious endingShlomo dreams the goat lays an enormous egg, so he prepares to feed it grain. Pair with Myron Uhlbergs Lemuel the Fool (2001) or Simms Tabacks Kibitzers and Fools (2005) for storytime or one-on-one reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)