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A Sack Full of Feathers
Yankel loves to tell stories, as long as they are someone else's. He does not see the hurt that his stories cause, the way they spread and change. Then the rabbi hands him a bag of feathers and tells him to place one on every doorstep in the village. Yankel is changed by what happens and finds himself with his best story yet, one of his very own.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 28, 2016
Title: A Sack Full of Feathers
Author: Debby Waldman
Illustrator: Cindy Revell
Genre: European folktale
Theme(s): Gossip
Opening line/sentence: In the village of Olkiniki lived a boy named Yankel, who loved to tell stories.
Brief Book Summary:
A Sack Full of feathers is about a little boy named Yankel who goes around telling his friends stories that are not completely true. His rabbi, wanting to teach him a lesson, sends him out into the village to place a feather on each door step. Later on, the Rabbi tells Yankel to go back out and collect all of the feathers that he had put out earlier. However, Yankel is unable to do so. Therefore, this teaches Yankel that the stories he tells and puts out into the world cannot be taken back. So, he must be careful of what he says and to not spread rumors.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Sharon Elswit (Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter, November/December 2006 (Vol. 26, No. 2))
Oh, the things Yankel hears and the things Yankel sees in his father s store. Tzitzit flying, he absolutely must tell his friends right away. From those snips of conversation and snaps of partially glimpsed scenes, Yankel fashions harmful new stories. In Waldman s rendition of the cautionary Eastern European folktale about lashon hara (gossip), Yankel spreads a rumor that the baker puts salt in his dough instead of sugar and that two women had a fight over a bolt of cloth. He is just about to tell how he saw the cobbler’s son kiss the butcher’s daughter who is engaged to the rabbi s nephew, when the rabbi intervenes. With a twist on the traditional telling, the rabbi instructs Yankel to place a feather on each doorstep in the village, rather than shake out a pillowcase to loose them all. When Yankel must gather the feathers up again, of course, like his words, they have all scattered wide. And here, common to other versions of the tale, Yankel learns, once you tell a story, you cannot take it back. Irrepressible Yankel, however, now knows what story about himself he will tell his friends. Less heavy-handed than Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna, but with more detailed examples of gossip than Feathers by Heather Forest, Waldman’s tale comes closest in story approach, setting, and tone to Yettele’s Feathers by Joan Rothenberg, which is now unavailable. The conversational text could have used some pruning and the middle gossip choice could have been more compelling for young listeners, but the book is genuinely warm. Revell’s acrylic illustrations zing with interesting perspectives and amoeba-like outer edges and are a delight to follow. There is a full-color, full-page illustration on every two-page spread with bold reds, blacks, yellows, and greens. Text is often ringed with a colorful scarf, the open edges of which lead to cameos of wide-eyed Yankel, sly cats with feathers in their mouths, or the rabbi in action. Recommended for ages 6 -- 8. Category: Folklore. 2006, Orca, 32 pp., $17.95. Ages 6 to 8.
(PUBLISHER: Orca Book Publishers (Victoria BC ;) (Custer WA:), PUBLISHED: c2006.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Oct. 15, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 4))
Yankel loves to tell stories and repeat the gossip that he hears in his father's store in the shtetl. The baker Reb Wulff talks about losing his glasses and putting salt instead of sugar in the cookies. Two women fight over a bolt of fabric they both want. Unfortunately, Yankel only hears the bits and pieces that make trouble, not how things turn out. So the rabbi decides to teach the boy a lesson by making him see that stories spread and that they can be hurtful. The fun in this retelling of a Jewish folktale is not in the lesson, but in the setting, the people, and the stories they tell. The bright acrylic folk art shows the characters gossiping, quarreling ("they were fighting like cats"), and, finally, getting together to enjoy steaming soup and share delicious cookies made with sugar. Category: Books for the Young--Nonfiction. 2006, Orca, $19.95.
(PUBLISHER: Orca Book Publishers (Victoria BC ;) (Custer WA:), PUBLISHED: c2006.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I really enjoyed how the first review by Sharon Elswit compared this book to other books that told the same story. Even though I am unfamiliar with them it is nice to know that I would have other options for this book and that the one version is no longer available. I agree that the middle gossip story could have related to children more, but it is not completely un-relatable. Children fight over toys and other objects just like the women were fighting over the cloth. The second review is not as detailed as the first. However, both of them discuss the acrylic art. Finally, I disagree with the second review by Hazel Rochman, when Hazel says “The fun is this retelling of a Jewish folktale is not in the lesson, but in the setting, the people, and the stories they tell” I think all of those things are fun including the lesson of the story because it gets an excellent point across without directly telling children not to gossip.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The illustrations for this story are very vibrant, using a lot of reds, greens, and yellows. The pictures definitely capture the reader’s attention and children who may be listening to this story as a read aloud. Some of the illustrations are viewed almost as if they are little blurbs because they are contained in a curvy bubble like look. Pictures of feathers and cats appear almost on every page and there are four pages that are completely covered with illustrations and bright colors. The text is often bordered with a curvy line that alternates blue, black, yellow and red colors. I think this book is designed for more advanced readers because there is a lot of text, therefore it would be challenging for a beginner reader to get through.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
I would use this book for the lesson that it is portraying, which is gossip. I would have my students write a short story about a time that they either had a rumor spread about them or they helped spread a rumor and include a picture. I would want my students to write either how it made them feel or how they think it made the other person feel. Then, I would have a group discussion with the students about the importance of not gossiping.
August 5, 2024
Jewish tradition is rife with substituting physical objects for intangibles. Hence the lights of the Shabbat candles to represent the human soul, breadcrumbs to toss in a river on Yom Kippur to represent our sins, and salt water on Passover doing double duty as the tears of our bondage and the elixir of the elite to show we are no longer slaves. And so in Debby Waldman’s folktale retold (illustrated beautifully by Cindy Revell), the feathers represent the ephemeral nature of gossip. Once let out, you cannot get it back. The story is told in a child-friendly way with pages of feather-eating cats to keep the reader visually amused. Even though the tale is set in the shtetl, it is a story for any time period or religious orientation as at its core it’s about the harm you can do by telling stories without substantiation or waiting until the full story unfolds – a morality tale for modern times. Highly recommend.
April 24, 2020
Yankel's father owned the store where people would chat and Yankel could listen in. He often would run to tell his friends before hearing the whole story, so he often got it wrong. One day the rabbi gave him a sack of feathers with instructions to leave one feather on the doorstep of everyone in the neighbourhood. When he finished he was told to go gather them all and bring them back.
Yankel learned a lesson about story-telling.
Good story for everyone to hear.
Yankel learned a lesson about story-telling.
Good story for everyone to hear.
May 19, 2019
Good moral - don't spread salacious gossip.
April 5, 2016
I just finished reading both "A Sack Full of Feathers" by Debby Waldman and Cindy Revell and "Yettele's Feathers" by Joan Rothenberg. I am currently a 2nd grade religious school teacher at a synagogue in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was using a textbook titled, "Jewish Values From Alef to Tav: A Value Story for Every Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet" by Joel Grishaver to teach my students about the Jewish value of Lashon Hara. Lashon Hara, translated literally as "bad tongue," refers to Jewish lessons about gossip and speaking poorly about another person. As you can see, this legendary Jewish folktale has been retold by a number of authors. This being noted, "A Sack Full of Feathers" by Waldman and Revell was well written and was by far the best version that I have come across to aid in teaching my students about Lashon Hara.
***Spoiler Alert***
This book, "A Sack Full of Feathers," retells this Jewish folktale through the eyes of a child. This child, whose name was Yankel, used to hang out at the village store where everyone in the town would go to trade news; Yankel's father owned the store, so Yankel had plenty opportunities to overhear stories not meant for his ears to hear or his mouth to share. This being said, when Yankel overheard a conversation, he wasted no time spreading this information to his friends. Often times, Yankel was so eager to share the townsman's story that he did not wait for the ending of these stories to hear how the situation was resolved. Instead, Yankel would run to his friends, so that they could validate the great information that he had acquired. The rabbi in the village, witnessed several of these events before he decided to intervene. The rabbi gave Yankel a large task; he was instructed by this rabbi to take a pillow filled with feathers and leave one feather on everyone's doorstep that lived in the village. When he returned, the Rabbi asked Yankel to revisit all of the houses and collect the feather that he left for the occupants. This task was an impossible one; nevertheless, Yankel did his best to collect all of the feathers. When he returned to the rabbi empty handed, the rabbi said "And so it is with the stories you spread, Yankel...Once you tell a story, you cannot say where or how or when. Think of that next time you tell a story, Yankel-and make sure the next story you tell is your own." I really love this Jewish folktale; the value is not just appropriate for Jewish students, but can be adapted for others including non-affiliated religious persons. In other words, you do not have to be Jewish to learn the lesson shared.
This book is appropriate for kindergarten through fifth grade. I think that the lesson learned from this folktale could benefit any age group, however the pictures and language was geared toward a young audience. To be honest, the lesson learned from this Jewish folktale could be geared to even older children as well; it is all about your approach as a teacher. The Jewish people have been taught year after year from the Torah and the Talmud (a book of rabbinic writings) that gossiping does not coincide with Jewish values. In the classroom, the teacher could lead a discussion about gossip. To start off this conversation, the teacher could pose the question "Even if the stories Yankel heard were true, why should he not have shared them with others?" This question encourages a higher level of thinking from the children being taught. Another idea to facilitate learning is to share with the students two other stories based on the same principle, Lashon Hara (as mentioned in the beginning of this review) and have the children write a short essay to describe in detail the similarities and differences between the stories. I am elated that I found a more appropriate story on Lashon Hara to share with my students; and I look forward to next year, so that I can witness my students responses during our discussion of this book.
***Spoiler Alert***
This book, "A Sack Full of Feathers," retells this Jewish folktale through the eyes of a child. This child, whose name was Yankel, used to hang out at the village store where everyone in the town would go to trade news; Yankel's father owned the store, so Yankel had plenty opportunities to overhear stories not meant for his ears to hear or his mouth to share. This being said, when Yankel overheard a conversation, he wasted no time spreading this information to his friends. Often times, Yankel was so eager to share the townsman's story that he did not wait for the ending of these stories to hear how the situation was resolved. Instead, Yankel would run to his friends, so that they could validate the great information that he had acquired. The rabbi in the village, witnessed several of these events before he decided to intervene. The rabbi gave Yankel a large task; he was instructed by this rabbi to take a pillow filled with feathers and leave one feather on everyone's doorstep that lived in the village. When he returned, the Rabbi asked Yankel to revisit all of the houses and collect the feather that he left for the occupants. This task was an impossible one; nevertheless, Yankel did his best to collect all of the feathers. When he returned to the rabbi empty handed, the rabbi said "And so it is with the stories you spread, Yankel...Once you tell a story, you cannot say where or how or when. Think of that next time you tell a story, Yankel-and make sure the next story you tell is your own." I really love this Jewish folktale; the value is not just appropriate for Jewish students, but can be adapted for others including non-affiliated religious persons. In other words, you do not have to be Jewish to learn the lesson shared.
This book is appropriate for kindergarten through fifth grade. I think that the lesson learned from this folktale could benefit any age group, however the pictures and language was geared toward a young audience. To be honest, the lesson learned from this Jewish folktale could be geared to even older children as well; it is all about your approach as a teacher. The Jewish people have been taught year after year from the Torah and the Talmud (a book of rabbinic writings) that gossiping does not coincide with Jewish values. In the classroom, the teacher could lead a discussion about gossip. To start off this conversation, the teacher could pose the question "Even if the stories Yankel heard were true, why should he not have shared them with others?" This question encourages a higher level of thinking from the children being taught. Another idea to facilitate learning is to share with the students two other stories based on the same principle, Lashon Hara (as mentioned in the beginning of this review) and have the children write a short essay to describe in detail the similarities and differences between the stories. I am elated that I found a more appropriate story on Lashon Hara to share with my students; and I look forward to next year, so that I can witness my students responses during our discussion of this book.
May 12, 2008
Reviewed by Me for Kids @ TeensReadToo.com
Yankel Liebovich has a very bad habit. Since his father owns the village store in Olkinik, he hears all kinds of stories every day. Unfortunately, Yankel doesn't usually hang around to hear the end of the tale. No, what Yankel hears are things that he knows the other school children will find funny, interesting, or horrifying--and those are the stories that Yankel tells daily.
He likes to brag about the fight between two women who were arguing over a piece of fabric at the store. "She's mean!" the other children comment. He likes to tell about how the baker used salt instead of sugar in his baked goods. "I'll never eat there again!" the other children say. For Yankel, finding a good story to share is more important than anything else; more important, perhaps, than the truth.
When the Rabbi sends Yankel on a mission to leave a feather at every home in the village, he does so without many questions. But when the Rabbi sends him back to those same homes, again, to retrieve that same feather, Yankel realizes the impossibility of his task. So, too, is it impossible to take back the stories that he likes to spread around Olkinik.
This is a great folktale that tells a very important lesson, although it might be one that is hard for younger children to understand at first. Once they truly grasp what gossip is, though, and how it can harm other people, they will learn, just like Yankel, that the only stories you should tell are your own.
Yankel Liebovich has a very bad habit. Since his father owns the village store in Olkinik, he hears all kinds of stories every day. Unfortunately, Yankel doesn't usually hang around to hear the end of the tale. No, what Yankel hears are things that he knows the other school children will find funny, interesting, or horrifying--and those are the stories that Yankel tells daily.
He likes to brag about the fight between two women who were arguing over a piece of fabric at the store. "She's mean!" the other children comment. He likes to tell about how the baker used salt instead of sugar in his baked goods. "I'll never eat there again!" the other children say. For Yankel, finding a good story to share is more important than anything else; more important, perhaps, than the truth.
When the Rabbi sends Yankel on a mission to leave a feather at every home in the village, he does so without many questions. But when the Rabbi sends him back to those same homes, again, to retrieve that same feather, Yankel realizes the impossibility of his task. So, too, is it impossible to take back the stories that he likes to spread around Olkinik.
This is a great folktale that tells a very important lesson, although it might be one that is hard for younger children to understand at first. Once they truly grasp what gossip is, though, and how it can harm other people, they will learn, just like Yankel, that the only stories you should tell are your own.
March 24, 2011
This book would be awesome for stopping gossip in a classroom and explaining why it is not good. It tells the story of a young Jewish boy named Yankel who's Dad works in a local store. Therefore, Yankel LOVES to run around and listen in on other people's stories and has many opportunities to do so. Every day, Yankel finds a new, and not so true, story to tell his friends. Yankel always leaves the conversation before he sees how it ends; therefore, he ends up telling his friends wrong information. The Rabbi catches Yankel one day leaving the shop early and asks him why. He tells Yankel that he knows what he is doing and that it is not OK and can hurt people's feelings. The Rabbi gives Yankel a sack full of feathers and tells him to place one on every person's porch. After a long day of doing so Yankel returns to the Rabi's house. The Rabi tells him to go around an pick up the feathers that he left on each person's doorstep. Frustrated, Yankel does as he is told but cannot find any of the feathers! They all blew away! After looking long and hard Yankel comes back to the Rabi's house and explains to him that he could not find any. The Rabi explains that the feathers were like the gossip that Yankel was spreading; you don't know where they spread to, how, or when. He explains that Yankel should only tell his own stories, and that is exactly what he does.
July 8, 2011
Age:
Grades K-3
Genre:
folktale
Diversity:
Jewish folktale
Illustrations:
Illustrations were created with acrylics.
Personal response:
The book sends a great message to children to think before sharing stories that may not be completely true (spreading rumors). The illustrations made the book so colorful and fun. I really like how the rabbi in the story carefully taught the boy a lesson with the sack of feathers.
Curricular or programming connections:
This book would be good for students to write about an instance when they may have accidentally helped a rumor along.
Grades K-3
Genre:
folktale
Diversity:
Jewish folktale
Illustrations:
Illustrations were created with acrylics.
Personal response:
The book sends a great message to children to think before sharing stories that may not be completely true (spreading rumors). The illustrations made the book so colorful and fun. I really like how the rabbi in the story carefully taught the boy a lesson with the sack of feathers.
Curricular or programming connections:
This book would be good for students to write about an instance when they may have accidentally helped a rumor along.
January 31, 2017
Once a word or story leaves your lips you can never get it back again.
May 23, 2018
An entertaining retelling of an old Jewish tale about gossip.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews