Oy Vey Life in a Shoe

by Bonnie Grubman, Dave Mottram (Illustrator)

Overview

A fun read-aloud based on a classic Jewish folktale.

“Hilarious with sly, tongue-in-cheek humor” –Midwest Review of Books

Lou lives in a shoe and doesn't know what to do. A contemporary mash-up of the Mother Goose tale with the traditional Jewish folktale about a family with an overcrowding problem, this high-energy adventure is chock-full of animals, kids, humor, whimsy, and silliness.

​A laugh-out-loud romp, this tale serves as a fun reminder that sometimes things have to go from bad to worse, before you realize they were wonderful all along!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681155159
Publisher:	Behrman House, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/01/2016
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	544,876
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

Editorial Reviews

"Oy Vey! Life in a Shoe is a poetic narrative adaptation of a classic Jewish folk tale about enlightenment through overcrowding. Hilarious with sly, tongue in cheek humor, the story is told through lilting, relentless rhyme. Lou is a good Jewish husband with a wife and 12 children who all live together in a shoe. Lou's is grumpy because of the noise of 12 sons and one daughter, and the crowded living quarters. One day, Lou's wife urged him to go to the rabbi to ask him to help him find some peace in his life. Lou does this quite respectfully, according to tradition. The rabbi, who is a very learned and well read man, gives Lou some strange advice, telling him to add chickens, goats, and geese to stay in his shoe house. Finally Lou can bear no more crowding and noise. In tears, he begs the rabbi to help him once again. "We've been chasing goats the whole night through. My nerves are shot and the shoe is stinking. Rabbi or not, what were you thinking?" This time the rabbi smiles and says: "Ask me no questions and do as I say. Your troubles will change for the better today. Take all the animals out of the shoe. They don't belong inside there with you." The result, while comical, is also profound: The father becomes content and happy with his many offspring and busy life: "Singing and laughing, kvelling too, and a baby playing peek-a-boo. Yelling, jumping, a snoring wife; with love in the shoe it's a bustling life!"

— Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

2016-06-01
Driven nearly meshugga from trying to live in a shoe with 13 kids, Lou Greenbaum begs the rabbi for help.The multistory boot and the rabbi's house, constructed of stacked-up books, add a folkloric air to this retelling of an old tale probably best known from Margo Zemach's classic It Could Always Be Worse (there is no source note). Adding some postmodern visual zest, Mottram dresses his figures in hoodies, onesies, and like modern garb. Weary of his own kvetching at the crowded conditions, Lou consults with the rabbi—and at his suggestion brings home two chickens, three goats, and a pair of geese in succession. Oy vey indeed: "My nerves are shot and the shoe is stinking. / Rabbi or not, what were you thinking?" Finally the rabbi instructs Lou to let the livestock out, and though that doesn't exactly bring domestic peace and quiet, even despite "a snoring wife; / with love in the shoe it's a bustling life!" Adding to that cheap shot, Mrs. Greenbaum is the only member of the uniformly light-skinned clan who doesn't rate a first name. At least she's not old, nursery rhyme notwithstanding. Also, unlike her husband, she's generally calm and smiling amid the ruckus, and her strawberry-blonde bob cut accounts for the children's wide range of hair colors. A fresh take on an often told but very funny story, and the shoe is a clever addition. But give the mother a name already! (Picture book/folk tale. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews