Yettele’s Feathers

Plot

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-A felicitous adaptation of a cautionary tale told originally as a warning against leshon harah (slander/gossip). A widow without children, "Yettele had a lot of time for minding other people's business," and mind it she does! Not only does she spread rumors from one neighbor to another, but she always has the facts wrong and surmises the worst. Eventually, everyone in Ostrow is afraid to talk to her, so she goes to the Rabbi. He advises her on the course of action that convices her never to gossip again. Rothenberg tells the tale in language redolent with Old World rhythm and with a few transliterated Yiddish expression inserted for emphasis. Her Yettele is a memorable character on a par with Carol Chapman's The Tale of Meshka the Kvetch (Dutton, 1980). Gouache on bristol board illustrations depict the village and its inhabitants in bright, almost tropical, colors. Leaning houses form a patchwork against cerulean skies and green hills; they are not authentically drab, but charming. A welcome, tellable addition to folktale collections from a talented newcomer to the world of children's books.
Marcia Posner, Federation of New York and the Jewish Book Council, New York City
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Ages 4^-8. Yettele Babbelonski loves to gossip. With a perfect view of the town and nothing to do all day, how can she help herself? When the neighbors complain about her tall tales, she shrugs them off. After all, she says, her stories are only words, and words are no more hurtful than feathers. It takes a wise rabbi with a clever ruse to change her mind. At the rabbi's request, Yettele cuts open a pillow and carries it across town. When the wind blows the feathers away, she discovers how hard it is to gather them back and repair the damage. Rothenberg's moral tale has a warm, comic quality. The gouache illustrations feature candylike tones of green, purple, and blue. Characters are drawn with broad, humorous strokes, and the town is a happy jumble of people, buildings, trees, and sky. The book comes to a fitting close as Yettele finds new pleasures in telling stories about her own life to the town children. Leone McDermott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.