What His Father Did

by Jacqueline Dembar Greene, John O'Brien (Illustrator)

Herschel, the legendary trickster, outwits a reluctant innkeeper with a most unusual threat, in a whimsical folktale complemented by colorful line drawings.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1992

About the author

Ms. Greene is an American author of more than 30 books and stories for young readers. In addition to her American Girl series, some of her notable books of fiction include: Out of Many Waters, a historical novel about the first Jewish settlement in America.

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

rating: 3.5 stars

Clever and worthy of discussion. I didn't realize that "Herschel the trickster was a legendary hero." I checked Wikipedia to see what it had to say. After learning about the character, I can better appreciate the story.

Hershele Ostropoler (1757 – 1811) is a prominent figure in Jewish humor. A prankster from Ostropol, Ukraine, he lived in poverty and targeted the rich and powerful, both Jew and Gentile. Common folks were not safe from his shenanigans but usually got off lightly. He is also remembered by Ukrainian gentiles as something of an ethnic folk hero who could take on establishment forces much larger than himself with nothing but his humor.

At the end, when we finally learn what his father did, it's time to ask the questions, what did Herschel do? Was that fair?

Re: the art. Appropriate for the story with details that fill in info about the time and place. The art on the back cover shows my favorite kind of hand dug well.

[Mellanie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story of a wily young man and his very clever threat.