The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Schlemiel Comes to America by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Óscar Perez Reycraft Books, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Cindy Rivka Marshall Buy at Bookshop.org Children who delight in silliness, especially the silliness of adults, need look no further than Chelm - a legendary place in Poland where all the people are fools. In the folklore, the people of Chelm take advice from the “wise men” of Chelm who lead their town further into absurdity. Thus the word “wise” is turned on its head to equal “most foolish.” After briefly introducing some classic Chelm anecdotes, author Jane Yolen departs from the usual folklore and tells of a Chelmite who gets fed up and leaves Chelm. He especially cannot tolerate the foolishness of his neighbors when they carry, rather than roll, a large boulder down a mountain. Yolen cleverly names her protagonist Schlemiel, a Yiddish word that means fool. However, in a fun reversal, this schlemiel is surprisingly bright. In fact he does not suffer fools gladl