Something for Nothing

by Ann Redisch Stampler, Jacqueline M. Cohen (Illustrations)

Dog lived in the noisiest part of Bialystok. All day long he heard the hubbub of the nearby marketplace, and all night long he heard the banging and clanging of workmen unloading their goods. When he could take the racket no more, Dog set off for the country to find a quieter place to live.

On his first night in his new home, a gang of howling and yowling, hissing and screeching cats terrorize him, destroying his newfound peace and quiet. Inspired by a Jewish folk tale, how Dog outwits the rascally cats makes for a humorous, satisfying story, exuberantly illustrated with stunning jewel-toned paintings reminiscent of Marc Chagall’s. Afterword.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2003

About the author

Ann Redisch Stampler is the author of the young adult novels Afterparty and Where It Began as well as half a dozen picture books. Her work has garnered an Aesop accolade, the National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor honors, the Middle East Book Award, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year mentions. How to Disappear (Simon Pulse, 2016), her first young adult thriller, will be released in June. Ann lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband Rick.

Reviews

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny Yiddish folk tale told with cats and dogs! Colorful and sometimes silly illustrations work together with a story that has you wondering, how will the dog outsmart the cats? Very well told!

[Catherine Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful picture book based on a tale that the author's Eastern European grandmother told her when she was a child. The dog represents the jews and all they endured in Poland. But here the underdog wins. I am deliberately reading a few folktale type books to widen my perspective on picture books a little. They seem to be wordier, but since they are so good, they are easy to read. You can easily adapt the lesson this story teaches to help your children develop important life skills. Despite the subject matter behind the story, it really is a fun read. Nice, bright, Picasso-like illustrations too.

[Kori Schlesener · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations were fun in this book, but there were a few words throughout the book that made it hard to read, so I would image it would be complicated for an elementary student. The illustrations were cheerful, vibrant and colorful, which definitely drew me in. It has an interesting story line as the dog offers the cats gold for doing things that he doesn't like. Interesting story.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is an interpretation of a folk tale the author heard from her grandmother as a child. It is about a dog that escapes the sound of the city but has to teach the country cats a lesson by using his wits. It provides a powerful lesson about the choice between using violence and using wit.

[Ainsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a little funny because the dog has the cats do bad things when he does not like them but then gives them gold for doing things when he does not even like them.