Dear Lesley,
This one came to my mind, re: your first question:
Terrible, terrible! Bernstein, Robin. Kar-Ben Copies, c1998
A contemporary retelling of the folk tale, It could always be
worse.
>From School Library Journal
K-Gr 4--A modern-day version of a traditional Jewish folktale. When
Abigail's mother marries a man with four children, the girl finds her
new home far too crowded and chaotic and seeks help from the rabbi. The
woman advises her to bring even more into the tiny house (bicycles,
pets, "dozens of cousins"), creating situations that are increasingly
"terrible, terrible, worse than before!" Brightly hued, cartoon
illustrations nicely convey the sense of chaos, with objects, animals,
and family members practically spilling off of the pages. However, the
characterizations are weak, particularly those of the four stepsiblings,
who remain nameless and voiceless, seeming to accept the drastic changes
in their household with little more than a grimace. A timely premise in
this age of blended families, this book is not as much fun as other
standard versions of this story, such as Ann McGovern's Too Much Noise
(Houghton, 1967).
Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Ann Abrams, Librarian
Temple Israel, Boston
Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author
and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)
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