(3) K-3 Illustrated by Aleksandar Zolotic. When Faigel forgets how to make potato pancakes for Hanukkah, the hungry rabbi's advice leads to more latkes than any one person can eat. They solve the problem by inviting all the villagers to celebrate together. The original tale reads like a traditional Chelm story; the illustrations, which set the tale in what looks like early-twentieth-century Eastern Europe, have a more modern Disney-cartoon vibe.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Susan Batori. A poor teacher and his wife devise a savings plan with good intentions but ridiculous results in order to provide enough traditional blintzes for their large family during the Shavuot holiday. Though the joke doesn't quite pay off, the comically exaggerated illustrations accentuate the absurdity of the escalating situation in this Eastern European noodlehead tale set in the storied town of Chelm. Author's note appended.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) K-3 The people of Chelm (a city of fools) receive a giant menorah from a nearby mayor. The townspeople's plans to thank him never quite work out, which makes for a frustrating Hanukkah--until young Yitzi finds a simple, festive solution. The amusing, conversational storytelling style invites readers to settle in; wildly bright watercolor monoprints reflect the Chelmites' confusion and sense of wonder.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(3) K-3 Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. The villagers of Chelm can't recall how to celebrate Hanukkah. They send foolish Yossel to nearby Tevka (or so they think) for information about "the coming holiday," and he returns with instructions to trim a tree and dress a fat man in a suit. This funny story, populated with bickering elders and heart-wise simpletons, features subdued but amusing illustrations set in the Old World.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 In Ungar's third story about Rachel, the townspeople of Chelm are tired of being thought of as foolish. Eventually, it is Rachel's book that leads Chelm to build a library, which is a wise thing to do. The story, inspired by Samuel Tenenbaum's story "Chelm's School," is told with vigor, and the brightly colored illustrations catch the spirit of the humorous tale.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(3) K-3 It is Passover in Chelm, and Selma slaves over a hot stove to entice the prophet Elijah to sample the best soup ever. But it is Selma's daughter's kindness to a peddler that actually produces the longed-for visit. Intensely colored illustrations explode with fuschia, orange, green, and blue.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) K-3 One of the favorite Chelm stories concerns the moon's "capture" in a rain barrel. In this version, young Rachel succeeds where the efforts of the adults fail. The stylized watercolor and colored-pencil artwork emphasizes the story's gentle humor and feeling of community rather than the foolishness of the characters. The telling is an adaptation of a story written by Samuel Tenenbaum; the lack of source notes is disappointing.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. Although nonsense abounds in these stories about the foolish realm of Chelm, Kimmel's sure sense of the potential of wisdom even among the most foolish brings sweetness and lightness to these tales. Kimmel alerts us in an author's note to the mixture of his collection; a dollop of retellings of traditional Yiddish tales, a soupçon of reworkings from other cultures, blended with three original stories.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2000

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mark Podwal. Bored with terrorizing the citizens of Chelm, invisible demons ship themselves to New York in search of a greater challenge but get stuck in a crate for fifty years. The overlong tale lacks the appeal of traditional Chelm stories, though the demons' adventures with subways and computers provide some amusement. Smudgy purple and blue paintings are interpretive and add to the book's appeal.

Reviewer: Amanda Sullivan