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The Golem: A Jewish Legend
A retelling of the Jewish legend of the golem created by Rabbi Lev to protect the Jews of Prague from the angry mob.
44 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 17, 2019
This story was also told by David Wisniewski and I did like that better when comparing the 2 together. But, this has fantastic artwork. The paintings almost feel like stained glass windows or something. They are very unique and beautiful with a dark tone to them.
The legend is the same in both, the golem protects the Jews from being slaughtered. I like this story.
The kids thought this was a little scary. They were glad the golem was there to protect the people from being hurt. The niece thought the artwork was scary and it bothered her. She gave this 2 stars. I told her it was a good thing when artwork can make us feel something, even scary feelings. The nephew found it interesting that the golem was so friendly until it got mad and then it was scary. He liked the story and wondered why golem don’t hang around at Halloween. He thinks he is a good monster and would be friends with Frankenstein. He gave this 4 stars.
The legend is the same in both, the golem protects the Jews from being slaughtered. I like this story.
The kids thought this was a little scary. They were glad the golem was there to protect the people from being hurt. The niece thought the artwork was scary and it bothered her. She gave this 2 stars. I told her it was a good thing when artwork can make us feel something, even scary feelings. The nephew found it interesting that the golem was so friendly until it got mad and then it was scary. He liked the story and wondered why golem don’t hang around at Halloween. He thinks he is a good monster and would be friends with Frankenstein. He gave this 4 stars.
April 19, 2015
A Caldecott Honor Award-winning story book. As retold here, it is an ugly story with ugly art. Basically a horror tale, with the details obscured in the blocky paintings. Not something I'd want to read to children, even those I was teaching about the Jewish ghettos of Europe. A definite miss.
August 2, 2013
I had heard of the Golem story before, through David Wisniewski's wonderful 1996 version and other books. I was curious to see another person's interpretation of the story and this one was definitely interesting. This book won a 1977 Caldecott Honor award, and was rather hard to find (finally managed to get an interlibrary loan copy from Georgia). It is basically the same story of the Wisniewski verson except that it ends more suddenly. Rabbi Lev is the leader of the Jewish Ghetto in Prague in the sixteenth century and one night he has a prophetic dream about trouble between the Jews and Christians of that city. This prompts him to create a golem, a powerful clay man, who serves as the guardian and protector of the ghetto. This is especially true when the rabbi's dream comes true and the golem must stop a riot, but instead of simply stopping it, he runs rampant throughout the ghetto burning down houses and uprooting trees. The rabbi, therefore, must destroy his creation. This version is different in that it uses Expressionist painting, with its indistinct shapes, bright colors and black outlines, to show the violence of the story. Recommended for ages 7-11, 2 1/2 stars.
December 14, 2016
I have to admit that I found the pictures more ugly than scary, and the story only so-so. But then, the Jewish culture doesn't mean anything to me personally. There is a short author's note (on the copyright page) but it doesn't help me connect with or appreciate what's going on, either. And, of course, we now have David Wisniewski's superior version, so this is unnecessary.
December 24, 2013
Very strange topic for a children's book.
October 21, 2015
The Golem rises again in this splendid, beautifully chilling picture book. I say 'rises again' because of this enigmatic passage as the Golem slowly awakens:
The Rabbi stretched himself over the Golem and gave him the breath of life. The Golem's eyes opened wide. His memory awakened. There had been another time and another Rabbi long ago.
There is never mention of this again, but I like that it casts the tale in a continuum of tales. This has happened before, this will happen again.
McDermott's interpretation of the tale is very simple, yet filled with symbology. The Hebrew alphabet appears on nearly every page in different forms... on an ancient book clutched by an aging rabbi, on the forehead of the great beast itself, above the synagogues and in the angry mobs. Letters are not just letters in this cabalistic tale, of course. Each character of the Hebrew alphabet is imbued with deep, resonant mysticism.
She begins with a quote from Martin Buber:
The origin of the world is dust, and man has been placed in it that he may raise the dust to spirit. But his end is dust and time and again it is the end where he fails, and everything crumbles into dust.
That, of course, is the basic story of the Golem, but gives it such a large context its almost staggering.
The Golem itself is large and nearly shapeless. She gives it only the very minutest of form. Once it is given life, it spends it days in relative peace.
As the days passed, the Golem became a familiar presence everywhere. He often went to the synagogue and heard the songs of the people.
Every Sabbath he visited each house in the ghetto and lit the hearth fires.
He watched over the preparations for the Seder, the Passover feast that celebrates the time long ago when God helped Moses free the Jews who were slaves in Egypt.
This peace does not last, and soon the Golem is called upon to pursue his true purpose. In a sudden rage, the Gentiles turn on their Jewish neighbors, accusing them of killing their children and using the blood to make their matzos. (This is a concept which I've seen come up time and time again, most recently in Will Eisner's The Plot). "The Jews are a plague on our lives!" shout the angry mob. "Kill the Jews! Kill the Jews!"
McDermott now completely alters the look of the Golem. He grows larger, resembles a towering pillar of sand, his face distorts in rage. He is surrounded by burning buildings and tiny humans... whom he crushes with powerful blows. Then he levels their houses, he rips trees from the earth. He is seen as a fierce maelstrom moving through the city, larger than any Godzilla, leaving nothing but death and destruction in its wake. It is only when he begins lifting powerful boulders and throwing them at the fleeing survivors that the Rabbi Lev runs after him and commands him to return to dust. "His mouth opened wide and the Name of God tumbled forth."
That is all it takes for the Golem to be destroyed, to return to the dirt of the earth.
"As I explored the mysteries of the Golem an evolution took place," McDermott writes in the introduction. "At first, he resembled something human. Then he was transformed. His textured body became a powerful presence lurking in dark corners, spilling out of my paintings. In the end he shatters into pieces of clay-color and returns to the earth. All that remains is the symbol of silence."
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The Rabbi stretched himself over the Golem and gave him the breath of life. The Golem's eyes opened wide. His memory awakened. There had been another time and another Rabbi long ago.
There is never mention of this again, but I like that it casts the tale in a continuum of tales. This has happened before, this will happen again.
McDermott's interpretation of the tale is very simple, yet filled with symbology. The Hebrew alphabet appears on nearly every page in different forms... on an ancient book clutched by an aging rabbi, on the forehead of the great beast itself, above the synagogues and in the angry mobs. Letters are not just letters in this cabalistic tale, of course. Each character of the Hebrew alphabet is imbued with deep, resonant mysticism.
She begins with a quote from Martin Buber:
The origin of the world is dust, and man has been placed in it that he may raise the dust to spirit. But his end is dust and time and again it is the end where he fails, and everything crumbles into dust.
That, of course, is the basic story of the Golem, but gives it such a large context its almost staggering.
The Golem itself is large and nearly shapeless. She gives it only the very minutest of form. Once it is given life, it spends it days in relative peace.
As the days passed, the Golem became a familiar presence everywhere. He often went to the synagogue and heard the songs of the people.
Every Sabbath he visited each house in the ghetto and lit the hearth fires.
He watched over the preparations for the Seder, the Passover feast that celebrates the time long ago when God helped Moses free the Jews who were slaves in Egypt.
This peace does not last, and soon the Golem is called upon to pursue his true purpose. In a sudden rage, the Gentiles turn on their Jewish neighbors, accusing them of killing their children and using the blood to make their matzos. (This is a concept which I've seen come up time and time again, most recently in Will Eisner's The Plot). "The Jews are a plague on our lives!" shout the angry mob. "Kill the Jews! Kill the Jews!"
McDermott now completely alters the look of the Golem. He grows larger, resembles a towering pillar of sand, his face distorts in rage. He is surrounded by burning buildings and tiny humans... whom he crushes with powerful blows. Then he levels their houses, he rips trees from the earth. He is seen as a fierce maelstrom moving through the city, larger than any Godzilla, leaving nothing but death and destruction in its wake. It is only when he begins lifting powerful boulders and throwing them at the fleeing survivors that the Rabbi Lev runs after him and commands him to return to dust. "His mouth opened wide and the Name of God tumbled forth."
That is all it takes for the Golem to be destroyed, to return to the dirt of the earth.
"As I explored the mysteries of the Golem an evolution took place," McDermott writes in the introduction. "At first, he resembled something human. Then he was transformed. His textured body became a powerful presence lurking in dark corners, spilling out of my paintings. In the end he shatters into pieces of clay-color and returns to the earth. All that remains is the symbol of silence."
http://www.picturebooksreview.com/201...
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July 13, 2015
For children of Jewish heritage or those interested in Middle Age folktales, this is a great story. The subject is so unique from Anglo traditions and tales that it catches a curious reader's ear. Additionally, it relates to the context of disenfranchised populations. I liked the art, but the story was dryly told. The story could have used more emotion and less plainness, but the images were exciting and just abstract enough to keep me looking.
March 12, 2011
In this version, the Golem isn't able to speak. He starts out average size and only grows into a giant when the mob attacks the Jews. The Rabbi is forced to unmake the golem (he commands the golem to return to dust and the Name of God comes out of the golem's mouth). The illustrations are dark, but fit the story
June 7, 2013
I had trouble connecting with this Jewish folktale, but I appreciated the way the light and shadow in the abstract illustrations evoked the darkness and violence that occurs throughout much of the story. This story doesn't tend to resonate with me, but I prefer the 1996 version by David Wisniewski.
February 5, 2013
Interesting story, and very nice artwork (Caldecott winner)
July 11, 2013
1977 Caldecott honor
July 13, 2016
It's like a page was missing from the end...
June 14, 2019
I read this book on loan from the Internet Archive.
I don't remember other version of the story being quite so specific, but I just might not be remembering correctly. The artwork added to the sense of it being from a particular period in time, even though it was abstract. It was dark and gloomy, and appropriate to the story, but I don't think it would be very attractive for a lot of children.
I don't remember other version of the story being quite so specific, but I just might not be remembering correctly. The artwork added to the sense of it being from a particular period in time, even though it was abstract. It was dark and gloomy, and appropriate to the story, but I don't think it would be very attractive for a lot of children.
October 21, 2017
• 1977 Caldecott Honor Book •
Ok art and story.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
Ok art and story.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
September 18, 2022
Beautiful artwork. The story seems incomplete. Cautionary tale?
July 14, 2023
A retelling of a Jewish legend of the golem created by Rabbi Lev to protect the Jews of Prague from the angry mob. This is an interesting story and the illustrations are beautiful.
June 26, 2024
This is a children’s book? Scary tale. Illustrations are colorful and semi abstract. Probably would have liked them better if the story was more appealing.
May 11, 2013
This telling of the classic Jewish legend centers in Prague when the Jewish people were confined to the ghettos. The story is the typical one of the Golem. The Jewish people were in danger of physical confrontation thanks to a rumor that said they used the blood of Christian children in their bread for the Passover. The Golem is created to protect the Jewish people by a rabbi and eventually becomes a giant clay man that kills many of the Christian attackers.
This is an interesting story and it is a traditional legend. It also is kind of a creepy tale involving men giving life to a creature that is like men but not human. I do like the story. However, I would recommend reading "Golem" by David Wisniewski over this version and there are two main reasons why. The first is the illustrations are so abstract that I can't actually tell most of the time what they are supposed to be. Some are better than others of course but anytime a background is involved it's harder to tell. The second reason is that many of the names were Americanized and not done with the Hebrew spellings but with the closest English version. The Wisneiwski version of the story keeps the Hebrew spellings and I think that lends a little more accuracy to the story.
This wasn't a bad book. There is just a more recent version that I think does a better job of the tale.
This is an interesting story and it is a traditional legend. It also is kind of a creepy tale involving men giving life to a creature that is like men but not human. I do like the story. However, I would recommend reading "Golem" by David Wisniewski over this version and there are two main reasons why. The first is the illustrations are so abstract that I can't actually tell most of the time what they are supposed to be. Some are better than others of course but anytime a background is involved it's harder to tell. The second reason is that many of the names were Americanized and not done with the Hebrew spellings but with the closest English version. The Wisneiwski version of the story keeps the Hebrew spellings and I think that lends a little more accuracy to the story.
This wasn't a bad book. There is just a more recent version that I think does a better job of the tale.
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October 2, 2016contains a ton of interesting pictures- different than what we are used to
may not be appropriate for reading aloud in a public school setting
talks about how a Rabbi wanted to protect his people from harm, so he created a protector out of clay
Rabbi ends up with certain powers too
may not be appropriate for reading aloud in a public school setting
talks about how a Rabbi wanted to protect his people from harm, so he created a protector out of clay
Rabbi ends up with certain powers too
March 17, 2022
A Rabbi makes a big clay golem that gets out of control and destroys a lot of stuff. I don't think I know enough historically about this situation to appreciate what was going on here, but I also didn't like the artwork.
July 11, 2011
Not so into the pictures.
Caldecott honor
Caldecott honor
May 1, 2013
I prefer the version of this story by David Wisniewski, which won the 1997 Cadelcott medal.
February 15, 2015
I've heard better retellings; this one lacked emotion. But the art was interesting.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews