Review: The Clever Little Tailor
The Clever Little Tailor: Bilingual English-Yiddish Edition
by Solomon Simon, translated by David Forman, illustrated by Yehuda Blum
Kinder-Loshn Publications
Category: Middle Grade
Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton
The Clever Little Tailor is a collection of nine stories originally
written in Yiddish by Solomon Simon in 1933. Some are inspired by Jewish
folktales. The eponymous tailor, known as Shnayderl (which means
“little tailor”), becomes known for his clever solutions to tricky
problems. In successive stories, he is called upon to solve the problems
of more and more powerful people, which take him further and further
from home. While Shnayderl provides his ingenious help, he never stops
wanting to return to his family and his quiet life as a tailor.
The first story touches on murder and blinding briefly, which pushes the
edges of expected violence in a set of stories for a modern young
audience. In the remaining stories, the violence is minimal. The
cleverness, however, is consistently high and sometimes laugh-aloud
funny. Though young readers may be a little slow to connect with an
adult protagonist, Shnayderl quickly becomes relatable as an underdog.
Readers will soon be rooting for the little tailor and turning the pages
to see what he comes up with next.
Simon’s grandson, David Forman, translated the stories into English for
this bilingual edition. His translation is accessible and engaging to a
modern reader, while still giving a sense of the original voice.
The book’s presentation is as clever as its hero. The English appears on
the left-facing pages and the original Yiddish on the right. The book
is read from right-to-left, like a Yiddish book. Because Simon’s stories
were divided into named sections, readers who are not adept at one of
the languages can easily track where they are in the stories.
An illustration at the start of each story gives a visual sense of the
setting. Intricately illustrated initial letters tie into the stories in
ways readers will enjoy discovering. A “Note from the Translator”
describes a cherished grandson-grandfather relationship, and how it
impacted Forman and led to this book.
The Clever Little Tailor provides a glimpse into pre-World War II European Jewish life and a Jewish person’s place in it. Elements of Jewish folktales run throughout the book. The book itself gives English-speakers an experience of Yiddish, a non-Hebrew language that uses Hebrew letters. This engaging, unique collection is a contender for Sydney Taylor recognition, perhaps as a Notable Book.
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