Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories

by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Theodore Bikel (Contributor)

‘[A] delightful and distinguished book [of seven tales] from middle European folklore [by the winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize for Literature].’ —BL.

1967 Newbery Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1940–1970 (ALA)
1966 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
"Best of the Best" Children's Books 1966–1978 (SLJ)
Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1966 (NYT)
Children's Books of 1966 (Library of Congress)
Children's Books of the Year 1966 (CSA)

Author Biography: Isaac Bashevis Singer was one of the last great Yiddish authors and received world acclaim for his rich and haunting novels of Jewish life and folklore. In 1978, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was also the recipient of two National Book Awards and three Newbery Honor Awards. Zlateh the Goat, a 1967 Newbery Honor Book, was his first book for children.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Jewish, Childrens, Judaism, Middle Grade, Fantasy

Audio Cassette

First published October 11, 1966

About the author

Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish American author of Jewish descent, noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.
His memoir, "A Day Of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw", won the U.S. National Book Award in Children's Literature in 1970, while his collection "A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories" won the U.S. National Book Award in Fiction in 1974.

Reviews

[Paula Mota · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*
#JulhoNobel

“Dedico este livro às muitas crianças que não tiveram a possibilidade de crescer por causa de guerras estúpidas e cruéis perseguições que devastaram cidades e destruíram famílias inocentes.”
- Prefácio do autor

O melhor deste livro é a combinação perfeita das ilustrações de Maurice Sendak com as histórias que Isaac Bashevis Singer escreveu em iídiche, inspirando-se nos contos tradicionais judaicos. As sete histórias deste autor agraciado com o Prémio Nobel em 1978 são caricatas, mas a tendência para o moralismo e a utilização de arquétipos, como, por exemplo, os tolos e os anciãos sábios, torna-as um pouco limitadas e pueris aos olhos de um adulto.
“A Neve em Chelm” e “Os pés baralhados e o noivo palerma” são os contos mais divertidos, sendo o meu preferido aquele que dá título ao livro. Se a história de um rapaz e o seu cão nunca deixa de encantar, a versão de um rapaz e a sua cabra é igualmente enternecedora e pode induzir alguns ao vegetarianismo.

Aaron compreendeu o que significava levar a cabra a Feyvel [o talhante], mas tinha de obedecer ao pai. Leah, a mãe, enxugava as lágrimas que lhe vieram aos olhos quando soube da notícia. As irmãs mais novas de Aaron, Anna e Miriam, choravam ruidosamente. (...) Zlateh confiava nos seres humanos. Sabia que eles sempre s haviam alimentado e nunca lhe tinham feito mal.
- A cabra Zlateh

[Amaranta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le mie favole di bambina. Sorrido, felice di averle ritrovate.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical, magical, and delightful children's stories, Zlateh the Goat is a collection of Jewish folktales that teach lessons. I am always captivated and drawn in by Singer's stories, and this book is no different, but these tales are not for just any children. Save them for the edgy kids who are not afraid of the dark side. Maurice Sendak's illustrations just add to the enjoyment.

[Ngoc Them · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Chúng tôi viết cuốn sách này không chỉ cho trẻ em mà còn cho các bậc phụ huynh nữa. Bởi vì họ cũng chính là những đứa trẻ rất nghiwem túc".
Cuốn sách này là những câu truyện thiếu nhi Do Thái, đọc rất dễ thương. Mình thấy cho trẻ con đọc cuốn này thích hợp hơn cuốn Nghìn Lẻ Một Đêm nhiều vì trong cuốn Nghìn Lẻ Một Đêm mình đọc có nhiều chi tiết quá bạo lực, tình dục, mâu thuẫn tôn giáo, dân tộc nhiều mà đọc còn không hiểu hết... 🤣🤣
Cuốn này đơn giản, nhẹ nhàng hơn.
Đặc biệt mình thích cái kiểu viết ở hiền gặp lành, kẻ ác sẽ là một kết mở. Không đề cập đến họ nữa, chúng ta sẽ là người suy nghĩ về số phận của họ. Chứ đọc Tấm Cám thấy cái kết cũng rợn rợn😆

[Aslı Can]

Komik aptallıklar üzerine küçük bir kitap. Resimleri de çok hoştu. Nasrettin Hoca hikayelerine benziyor ama ironisi daha keskin. Kitapçıda karşınıza çıkarsa bir göz atın derim.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and silly Yiddish tales. The title story is the best of the bunch. Maurice Sendak's illustrations are perfect.

Popsugar 2021-A book whose title starts with "Q" "X" or "Z"

Newbery Honor 1967

[Juliana Garbayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

É daqueles livros infantis que agradam leitores de todas as idades. O autor ¬— principal representante da literatura iídiche do século XX e vencedor do Nobel de Literatura (1978) ¬— reúne sete contos passados “algures, em tempos que já lá vão” e conectados por um fio comum: as festividades do Hanukkah. A cultura judaica está presente por todo o livro: nas profissões, brincadeiras, nomes e hábitos retratados, bem como nas figuras religiosas, tal qual o diabo, presente em três dos sete contos.
A escrita simples, direta e sensível de Singer desperta diferentes emoções ao longo das páginas. O leitor vai do riso (por exemplo, com os aldeões loucos que pensam ter capturado a lua em A neve em Chelm), à beira das lágrimas com o conto de lealdade e gratidão que dá nome ao livro (A cabra Zlateh, de longe o mais emocionante).
Os desenhos em preto e branco de Maurice Sendak ajudam a ambientar as histórias e, ao recriarem apenas algumas cenas, deixam bastante espaço para a imaginação.

[Jerah · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to scare your kid stiff, old-country style, by Isaac Bashevis Singer, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story collection about a village full of foolish people. One part comedy, one part cautionary tale. Fabulous pen and ink illustrations throughout.

[Espelunco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isaac Bashevis Singer recupera y elabora las narraciones de las pequeñas comunidades askenazíes que usaban el yiddish en Europa Central y Oriental. Este conjunto de cuentos, preparado especialmente para niños, es al mismo tiempo antiguo y moderno. Tiene personajes típicos de los cuentos de hadas —el flojonazo, el Diablo, el sacerdote o rabino— pero al mismo tiempo una afición por la paradoja que es bastante contemporánea.
Con las ilustraciones de Sendak pasa lo mismo: son antiguas y modernas al mismo tiempo, como los grabados de antaño pero dibujadas con distancia: los judíos religiosos que retrata son un poco "cualquier persona" y también un poco esa comunidad que ilustrador y escritor dejaron para siempre.
Es una excelente lectura para después de las comidas, o al menos a nostros nos ha resultado muy bien con nuestra hija de cinco años (casi seis, en realidad, me mataría si no digo esto último).
Excelente servicio, muy recomendado.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

De todos los tontos de Chelm, los más famosos eran los siete ancianos. Como eran los más viejos y los más grandes tontos, gobernaban en Chelm. Tenían barbas blancas y frentes muy anchas, por pensar demasiado.

[Linda Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book contains seven intriguing short stories written for children by a Polish Jew, and illustrated by another Polish Jew, the amazing Maurice Sendak! This book was a Newbery Honor book in 1967. Of course the stories are characteristically Jewish in nature with some Yiddish terminology included. I enjoyed reading stories with this culture embedded.

The illustrations are black and white pen drawings, very well done, detailed, and fascinating. I'm amazed at the amount of book illustration art produced by Maurice Sendak in his lifetime. The many books are listed on his Wikipedia page.

The seven short stories are well-written and generally pleasant to read. They have a folk tale appeal with little families living in an agricultural community in the long-ago past. The first and last stories were the longest and best of the lot though the shorter stories in between were also nicely imagined and written.

The stories are set in a fictional village called Chelm where it seems most people are exceptionally dim-witted. That's the part I didn't like. I don't know why the author wanted to write about intellectually impaired people doing silly things - he seemed to have a fascination with them and probably thought it added to the humor of his stories. I have a hard time laughing about mental capacities. I've never been a fan of slapstick comedy like Laurel and Hardy, or the Three Stooges, and likewise, I'm not laughing about this. Maybe it was a sign of the times. This book was published way back in 1966 when perhaps that type of humor was more accepted.

My four stars are based on the ease of reading the stories, their folk tale ambiance, and the skill of the author. I had to take off a star in defense of mankind. We are all so flawed. Nobody is perfect.

[Benjamin Dueholm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book was something of a revelation. The stories are simple and profound--some humorous, some solemn, but all very good and two or three of them little masterpieces. My five-year-old needed a break from Narnia and this proved to be just the thing. Despite (or because of) the unfamiliar cultural details, he's become quite captivated with the stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer.

[Metin Yılmaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tormesli Lazarillo gibi bir güzel süpriz daha yaptı Can Yayınları. Kitabı alırken aklıma gelen güzel bir kitap okuyacağım ve yeni bir yazar keşfedeceğim idi ve tam düşündüğüm gibi oldu. Güzel öyküler barındıran güzel bir kitap.

[Misti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Yiddish tales, some funny, others quite touching. The title story, the last in the book, was one of the latter, and probably my favorite in this volume. Many are set around Hanukkah, so this would be a perfect read for that time of year. If you have an interest in Eastern European Jewish village tales, or enjoy short story collections in general, this one is actually lovely.

[Ambar Mendez · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Paraíso de tontos ⭐⭐
- El cuento de la abuela ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- La nieve de Chelm ⭐⭐⭐
- Los pies mezclados y el novio tonto ⭐
- El primer Shlemiel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- La trampa del diablo ⭐⭐
- La cabra Zlateh ⭐

[Amber Scaife · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book of very short Jewish folktales, all set around Hanukkah. Not much else to say about this one, except that fans of Maurice Sendak will enjoy his illustrations.

[Pino Sabatelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chi ha detto che le favole si possono leggere solo da bambini?

[Stephanie Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really mixed feelings about this book. It is a collection of short stories written in folklore style and based on Jewish culture. There's no doubt that Singer's writing, Maurice Sendak's illustrations and Elizabeth Shub's translation into English are all top-notch and work well harmonically. However, I feel it's a mixed bag with the stories themselves: some are delightful; some strike me as strange and somewhat dark.

I relish the opportunity to "learn around the world" with my kids. I find that many well-written books based on other cultures invite the reader in, excite imagination, teach about the culture without really trying, and generally enhance appreciation, acceptance and understanding . I've found many other well-written books that are tailored to their own cultural audience, and though they are great books, well-suited for their intended readers, they don't offer a "bridge" of sorts to help those from other cultures understand/appreciate new ways of thinking, feeling, or communicating. Rather than helping my kids fall in love with the amazing culture and history of Jewish people, I am a bit concerned that this book falls in the second camp and may even push them away a little because it comes across to them as weird or scary.

[Luann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt to me like a much longer book than it is. The stories just aren't to my taste. I planned to stretch it out over several days by reading just one story each day, but after reading the first couple of stories, I conveniently "lost" the book under a stack of papers on my desk and stopped reading it. The only reason I finally finished it is that it is a Newbery Honor book and I want to check it off of my list.

I think I enjoyed the story of Zlateh the Goat the most - at least the boy did something smart when the snowstorm hit. Some of the characters in the other stories were just too silly and I found it frustrating. Do I not understand these stories due to lack of knowledge of this culture? Would I enjoy them if they were stories I had grown up with? I just don't know.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Singer wrote seven delightful and mostly humorous stories in this book. Several of them revolve around the silly people of Chelm of Jewish folklore. My favorite is the story of the goat, Zlateh, doomed to be taken to the butcher, but who saves the life of young Aaron during a blizzard. I also liked the story of the young man who so wanted to go to Paradise, that he tried to convince his family that he was dead; and the clever doctor's solution. "The Mixed-Up Feet and the Silly Bridegroom" also had me chuckling. The illustrations by Maurice Sendak enhance the stories.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book first made it on my radar because of the beautiful illustrations by Maurice Sendak. It turns out that the stories by the Polish born / Yiddish author Singer are delightful as well. There are are lots of references to Hanukkah and dreidel and the devil makes a couple of appearances. There are wise elders who aren't really so wise after all but who may give us a good laugh and there are certainly many lessons to be learned along the way. One of them from a dear old goat. Put all that and Sendak's illustrations together and you have one delightful book!

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of our "test prep" books had an excerpt from Zlateh, so I thought this may be a good collection of short stories at my students' reading level. Not. I think one needs to be Jewish to understand the value of any of these stories. Zlateh the Goat even ended up being a really lame story. The commentary on the back cover hails the author as one of the last Yiddish storytellers, so I have a feeling that I'd feel differently about them if it were a part of my heritage.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of traditional Yiddish folk stories retold by Isaac Bashevis Singer and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. I really liked the story of the first schlemiel, but the title story is the best of all.

[ekim şükran · Rating 5 out of 5]

En sevdiğin yazar kim diye soracak olursaniz; bashevish singer derim. Gerçekten öyküleri o kadar tatlı ve o kadar güzel hissettiriyor ki; sevdiğim insanlara hediye etmek isterim. Sanırım öyle de yapıcam tam şu an karar verdim.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are fun and smart and short.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

zlateh the goat was my favorite out of all the stories, with moments of weird goat sexuality. hmmm. Sendak's pen and ink drawings are quite nice as well.

[Óscar Trobo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I. B. Singer, en plan tusitala, ens conta 7 contes jueus a cau d'orella. Sendak en mode Doré. Un plaer.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Illustrator-Elizabeth Shub and Pictures by Maurice Sendak, Hindi language translation by – Vidushak, Children’s Ilustrated Colour Picture Book- This book narrates the story of Poland, Jew family. Rubin, his parents and his sisters Ana and Marium were members of the family. They owned an old goat named Zlateh. The month is December. The family business was to sell animal skin. This year the winter was late and the festival of Hannah was about to arrive. Rubin’s father went to the market and met the butcher. He traded Zlateh, the old goat for eight coins. Next morning, Rubin was asked to take Zlateh to the market and deliver to the butcher. He would take the eight coins and purchase candle sticks, potatoes, oil and gifts for children. Rubin and Zlateh moved out early in the morning towards the market which was faraway. Rubin’s mother gave him bread and cheese. As they moved further, the weather turned cold, and it started raining. Soon, it was snowing. Rubin and Zlateh were caught in the snow. Rubin saw a hillock on which there was grass. They walked to the hillock. The constructed a small room for themselves, covered the door with dry grass and left a hole at the door for the air to pass. Zlateh ate the grass and was happy as the winter was not affecting them. Rubin ate his lunch and was still hungry. He drank Zlateh’s milk and slept near Zlateh for that night. Thus, he passed three days. Next day and night were also cold, and they stayed back. Rubin survived on Zlateh’s milk. Next day the weather was better. Rubin found a snow tracker moving. He enquired about the road to his village. He directed him to the path. Thus, Ruben and Zlateh reached home. His family was thankful to Zlateh for saving their son’s life. They decided not to sell Zlateh. Winter had arrived, so, they sold the leather for warn clothes and had enough money to celebrate Hannah festival. Author is a Nobel laureate. The story is classic. Coloured illustrations help the reader in relating to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Tirzah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Isaac Bashevis Singer's Foreword is probably my favorite part of the book - not because the stories are terrible, but because the Foreword sets the tone and background for the stories, which allowed me to understand them and appreciate them. I do not have a great knowledge of Jewish folklore and culture (I am familiar with Hanukkah. Dreidel I heard of, but I had to Google it to learn precisely what it is.), so it was interesting to read folktales from another culture. As with all folktales, there is a moral (or two) to be learned. I do recommend this book as a read-aloud and a way to introduce other cultural folklore, but I do so with caution. Children today are taught differently than when this book was published, so I feel like adults should be around to explain some things to children if questions should arise - from vocabulary to content. Some of the tales are dark, which may cause problems for sensitive readers. There is a picture of the devil that could be viewed as scary. One character wishes to die (Fool's Paradise) and a second character attempts to die (The First Shlemiel). The first character's foolishness is addressed and he learns that it is a blessing to live and dismisses thoughts of death while the second character's death wish is never really rectified and I see no sign of reconciliation. The non-reconciliation bothers me, because children might take away that it is all right to wish to die and attempt it. The author states in the Foreword that some of the characters are foolish and these two characters are clearly an example of this. I may be overreacting and I know the majority of children do not think about death, but recent events in my personal life and in the world have led me to be sensitive on the subject of taking one's own life. These are just some of my concerns with the book, but I definitely think adults should check it out to see if it is something their young readers would enjoy.