The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon

This was a fun Jewish story about kids that had to help silly adults realize the moon was still in the sky. I really enjoyed the Yiddish words that were used in context for kids as well as the glossary at the end!

I love books that give me the giggles. In this book, the adults are worried when they see the moon's reflection in a lake, thinking it fell and needs to be rescued. The children are clever but have trouble making the adults understand.
The language was a lot of fun, but my favorite part was the ridiculous schemes the adults came up with. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I absolutely loved this book! There aren't too many Jewish children's books out there and this one was so much fun! I enjoyed the Hebrew and Yiddish words and as I was reading, I hoped there would be a glossary in the end with definitions of all of the words, and I was happy to find out there is! If you don't speak Hebrew or know how it is pronounced, it might be a challenge to read these words aloud, but I guarantee you will have fun with it!

In Jewish folklore there is a village called Chelm where everyone is so foolish that they think they are the wisest people around. For generations storytellers and authors have shared their foolishness..
Author Audrey Barbakoff has created a new twist on the traditional stories. Set in a modern day Chelm, all the adults are as foolish as ever. But the kids are clever and must come up with a way to set the adults strait. In this book, upon seeing the moon's reflection in the lake, the adults think that the moon has fallen from the sky. The silliness ensues as they come up with one scheme after another to rescue the moon. This book has a the silliness of a traditional Chelm story. But with kids who are wise, children will enjoy the book even more. The great illustrations by Rotem Teplow add to the atmosphere and the faces are all humorously expressive. The story gains an authentic flavor with several Yiddish words and phrases. However you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this book. There is a glossary in the afterward, so that anyone can enjoy the story.

This book is absolutely adorable. The story is so cute and the art style is even cuter. It really makes the yiddish accessible. I would read this to my classroom kids and my future children.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

With all of the unfortunate anti semitism going on in our country, books like this one for young children are becoming more important. Even though I am not Jewish myself, I do have Jewish friends and it breaks my heart with the antisemitism that is running rampant in America. With that being said, I should also note that I am also part of a minority community, as I am a person who lives with multiple disabilities and health conditions. Anyhow, the moral of the story is to teach young children to be kind and love everyone, as they are one day going to be in charge of this country. This is a must read, and I highly recommend it!
—


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


If you are interested in seeing more of my reviews and other content feel free to connect with me here <3:

https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules (links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, My blog and Substack newsletter, etc)

If you are a publisher or author who has questions about my reviews (as well as questions about my stats, reach or engagement), please free to email me. I am also open to requests for book reviews from authors or publishers. Thank you again for taking time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!