The Parakeet Named Dreidel

by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Suzanne Raphael Berkson (Illustrator)

Overview

The classic story from Nobel Prize winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer about a family who adopts a parakeet during Hanukkah, fully illustrated and in picture book form for the very first time.

When young David and Mama and Papa are celebrating Hanukkah one frosty winter evening in Brooklyn, Papa sees a parakeet sitting on the window ledge. He lets the parakeet in and everyone is delighted to find that it speaks Yiddish. They name it Dreidel and it becomes part of their family. Many years later, when David is in college, he is at a party one night and tells Dreidel's story—only to discover that Zelda, a young woman at the party, owned the bird herself as a child. Papa and Mama are worried that they will have to give their beloved pet back, but then David and Zelda decide to get married after college, and everyone agrees that they should take Dreidel with them as they start their own family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466894570
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	09/08/2015
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	75 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-91) was the author of many distinguished books for children and adults, including A Day of Pleasure, winner of the National Book Award and a Newbery Honor. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.

Suzanne Raphael Berkson lives in Chicago, Illinois. She is a retired teacher and a greeting card artist. She once had tea across the room from Isaac Bashevis Singer. The Parakeet Named Dreidel is her picture book debut.

Date of Birth:

July 14, 1904

Date of Death:

July 24, 1991

Place of Birth:

Radzymin, Poland

Place of Death:

Surfside, Florida

Education:

Attended Tachkemoni Rabbinical Seminary in Warsaw, Poland, 1920-27

Editorial Reviews

09/14/2015
In this newly illustrated tale from Singer’s 1980 collection The Power of Light, a stray parakeet appears at the window of a Brooklyn family on the cold and snowy eighth night of Hanukkah. That’s odd enough, but this is no ordinary bird: it loves to play with dreidels (hence the name the family gives it) and speaks Yiddish—especially the phrase “Zeldele, geh schlofen” (“Zeldele, go to sleep”). Nine years with Dreidel as a beloved pet pass, and the family’s son goes to college, where he falls in love with a “beautiful and gifted” girl who turns out to be none other than the parrot’s original owner herself. Newcomer Berkson contributes largely straightforward ink-and-watercolor interpretations of the action, but the wit and wonder that has always animated Singer’s matter-of-factly magical world shines through. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

10/01/2015
K-Gr 3—In this picture book version of a story first published by Singer as part of a collection, a father relates the story of the time, 10 years ago, that his young son David rescued a parakeet that appeared on their snowy windowsill on the last evening of Hanukkah. Dreidel, as the family named him, is a friendly, tame bird that even speaks a bit of Yiddish ("Zeldele, go to sleep"); the family is overjoyed when no one answers any of their notices advertising a lost bird. Ten years go by, with Dreidel a beloved family member, and then David goes off to college—where he tells the story of Dreidel at a party and a young woman exclaims, "I am this Zeldele!" David and Zelda get married and Dreidel the matchmaker goes off to live with them. VERDICT Friendly cartoon watercolor illustrations and the father's warm, understated narration make this a wonderful choice for a family lapsit and a read-aloud over the holiday season or anytime.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

2015-08-12
Singer's short story, first published in The Power of Light (1980) and now fully illustrated in a new picture-book version, depicts family, love, and marriage. A lost, Yiddish-speaking parakeet arrives on the windowsill of David's Brooklyn apartment, most likely attracted by the light of the family's menorah. Unable to find its rightful owner, the family keeps the pet, and it quickly becomes an integral part of their lives for the next nine years. Berkson uses black-outlined soft watercolors to extend each development in the story beyond the original apartment-window scene. The flurry of activity created by the bird's sudden appearance in the family's quiet holiday evening is depicted with a series of vignettes around the text. A double-page spread emulating a photo album delineates David's growth. These "photos" highlight music and art lessons, baseball, a growth chart, bar mitzvah, and graduation, all in black and white with only the green-and-yellow tint of Dreidel's feathers and the bird's red beak in each image. The presence of the parakeet in the boy's life continues with Dreidel's reunion with his original owner, now David's new bride. A Chagall-like painting of the happy couple in joyful bliss floating through the sky with baby and Dreidel in tow adds a final touch of romance. Berkson's illustrations give this sweet tale a new life and a new audience. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews