Review: Kai and the Golem
Kai and the Golem
by Carol Matas, illustrated by Elisa Vavouri
Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner), 2025
In this clever twist on the golem story, a boy lives with his father and his grandmother, but his grandmother is in the hospital, and without her nothing goes right, not even the weather. Then the boy remembers stories about a golem that his grandmother told him. He becomes convinced that his troubles are all due to a golem. After talking to his grandma on the phone he realizes things aren’t so bad after all. Even the golem isn’t so bad. The boy is able to make friends with him.
Particularly clever is how the size of the golem in the illustrations varies according to the boy’s emotions, from monster to pet.
This golem doesn’t help the Jewish people in need, he helps one little boy whose religion is unspecified. This story introduces the golem into ordinary contemporary life. Thus the golem story becomes relevant to every child. An endnote tells about the golem in Jewish history.
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