Raisel's Riddle

by Erica Silverman, Susan Gaber (Illustrator)

A Jewish Cinderella

What's more precious than rubies, more lasting than gold?

Raisel knows. She learned it from her grandfather, a poor scholar who taught her. When he dies, Raisel finds work in the home of a rabbi. His jealous cook makes Raisel toil from sunup to sundown. And as the Jewish holiday of Purim approaches, Raisel works even harder. The rabbi's son presides over the Purim dinner, and Raisel listens closely when he responds to riddles posed by his guests. Is it possible that this young man can answer Raisel's riddle? Erica Silverman's lively retelling of the Cinderella story features a heroine for whom knowledge is as essential to happiness as love. In striking paintings, Susan Gaber captures all her beauty, external and internal.

Genres: Picture Books, Jewish, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Cinderella, Holiday, Folk Tales

34 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 1999

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now here's a Cinderella retelling that I will applaud! :-) Raisel is a kindhearted, smart young woman and her "Prince Charming" is impressed with her intelligence! (woo hoo!) Knowledge and goodness are both touted as desirable traits. It's nice to see that the "evil stepmother" figure is instead a miserable old cook--a welcome change, in my book. It's set during Purim, so could be a good holiday book, as well. Lovely story and a update of the original to appeal to modern sensibilities about women's intelligence though it still holds some magic and romance, too! :-)

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A version of the Cinderella tale, with a Jewish spin. We have a young girl who is orphaned and seeks work in the city. She is given a job as a kitchen maid in the home of a Rabbi, but the cook/ housekeeper doesn't want here there. She works hard and makes no complaints. One night everyone goes out to celebrate, and she is left to clean up after a party. She gives her meal to a beggar woman, who in turn grants her three wishes. The girl asks for a costume, and a horse-drawn carriage to take her to the party where she meets the Rabbi's young son. She tells him a riddle, then had to leave. Her last wish is used to clean the kitchen so her absence is not noticed.
When the Rabbi announces he seeks the young woman who told his son a witty riddle, she is locked in the pantry to keep her out of the way by the cook. However, she is able to draw their attention and is released. She recited the riddle with the son, and he asks her to marry him. They lived happily ever after.
I rather like that in this tale the girl is educated, and wins the heart of her love with her intelligence, not her looks.

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, but I admit to being a little hesitant about the Cinderella "she's saved by marrying well" storyline. It does afford much opportunity for discussion with the kiddos, though, especially when her employers seem so oblivious to how poorly the cook treats her. I mean, seriously; you don't have to marry her, just notice her. The focus on study is nice, though. I do appreciate that her husband-to-be loves her for her mind, not just her looks (although would he have noticed her intellect had she not been so beautiful?).

[Anthonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story of a young girl that loves riddles and learns from her grandfather the rabbi. her grandfather dies and she set off to find work and ends up working for a house that will end up becoming her home. A must read

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author/illustrator team Erica Silverman and Susan Gaber present a Jewish Cinderella story in this lovely picture book. Raised by her scholarly grandfather, who taught her to read the Talmud and other texts, she was as intelligent as she was good. When her grandfather died, Raisel sought employment in a nearby city, in the house of a rabbi, working hard and putting up with all of the cruelty visited upon her by the jealous cook. When Purim came around, she wanted to attend the Purim play, something that seemed an impossibility until three wishes were granted to her by an old woman to whom she had been kind. Attending in a gorgeous Queen Esther costume, she spoke with the rabbi's son, posing a riddle so intriguing that he could not forget it, even when Raisel fled at midnight...

I have read and enjoyed a number of other picture books from both Silverman and Gaber, so when I learned that they had created a Cinderella retelling together, I lost no time in tracking it down. I am in the midst of a themed reading project involving that story, and was curious to see what they would do with it. Although it isn't clear to me whether this represents an actual traditional Jewish folktale—a Jewish folk variant of the tale type—or whether it is an original fairy-tale created by Silverman from the tale type (I cataloged it as both fairy-tale and Jewish folklore, to be safe), I nevertheless enjoyed Raisel's Riddle quite a bit. The story is engaging, and it was refreshing to see intelligence as the key factor which attracts the "prince," and a riddle the item used to track down the heroine (as opposed to the lost shoe). I also appreciated that the story involved Purim, as that also makes it an entertaining tale for the holiday. The accompanying illustrations from Gaber were charming—expressive and lovely, complementing the story nicely. Recommended to young folk and fairy-tale enthusiasts, and to anyone looking for Cinderella stories and/or Jewish tales.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful take on the Cinderella story with a Jewish spin.

Raisel is an orphaned Polish girl, raised by her grandfather, a student of the Talmud. When he dies, Raisel must travel to the city to find work. A rabbi takes her in as a servant, but his cook doesn't like her and treats her terribly, until Raisel's kindness to a stranger releases a magic that allows her to secretly attend the Purim play, telling the Rabbi's son an intelligent riddle that leads him to search her out.

Not just her beauty, but her intelligence, is what draws the rabbi's son to Raisel, and her kindness sets the events in motion. A great story for little Jewish girls, to focus on intelligence and kindness more so than beauty.

Filled with beautiful illustrations as well.

I adored this story.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Jewish version of Cinderella, with Raisel attending a Purim celebration instead of a ball and telling the rabbi's son (rather than a prince) a riddle that he later uses to identify her (rather than a glass slipper) - very beautiful retelling of the fairy tale; my little ones (7 & 8 as of this writing) really enjoyed it. They "got it" right away - "Dad, this is just like Cinderella!" - and enjoyed comparing and contrasting the story they knew with this retelling. I'm glad we read it!

[Daniel Barrows · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Jewish Cinderella. This story teaches readers to value intelligence. The protagonist will only marry her suitor if he can answer her riddle, and the suitor is enamored by her knowledge of the Talmud and clever riddle.

Quotes:
"Look not at the flask but at what it contains."
"What's more precious than rubies, more lasting than gold?
What can never be traded, stolen, or sold?
What comes with great effort and takes time but then -
Once yours will serve you again and again?"

[Nolan Brendel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it because the cook was so mean to Raisel and then Raisel found this beggar and she gave her 3 wishes. One of her wishes was to go to the party in a horse drawn carriage. She ran away when it was midnight. Her last wish was to clean the house. She told a riddle to the rabbi’s son at the party then later said she would marry him if he could answer the riddle.

[SOS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raisel's Riddle is a retelling of the Cinderella story with a Jewish bent. (When my child was in second grade, they did an entire unit on comparative Cinderella picture-book stories told from different cultural backgrounds. There are a ton of them that have been written.) Raisel, a young girl, is left on her own after her beloved grandfather dies. She finds work in the house of a rabbi, but the cruel housekeeper treats her badly. On the Jewish holiday of Purim, Raisel befriends a poor old woman (the fairy-godmother surrogate), who rewards Raisel's kindness with three wishes, one of which is for a Queen Esther costume, so she can attend the holiday play. The handsome prince -- um, er -- rabbi's son, is smitten with her when he talks to her at Purim celebration, and she asks him a riddle. Alas, at midnight, the magic of the wishes ends and Raisel must rush home, before the rabbi's son has a chance to answer her riddle, which he deems as uncommonly intelligent. See where this is going? Instead of the glass slipper in Cinderella, the rabbi's son attempts to find his true love by listening to women offer him the riddle they had recently asked. (He has a thing for riddles.)

This is a sweet story sure to entertain a young child, especially, in my experience, a little girl from about four to eight years old. The illustrations are lovely and add interest to the story.

I'd recommend this book to anyone, with or without children, Jewish or not. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot: A
Writing: B
Vocabulary: A
Illustrations: A
Level: children's book
Rating: G (girl orphaned, bullied)
Message: The most valuable quality is wisdom, and the most valuable commodity is learning.

This is a realistic, Jewish-Polish retelling of Cinderella.

[Helen-Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a slew of "Cinderella" stories I read as part of a project for a school library. This is a very sweet story, with a Eastern European setting, and a strong female lead. Illustrations really supported the tone of the story.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know I wanted a Jewish Cinderella story until I read it. I didn't love how they made clear that the mean cook was specified as Polish when no other country origin is mentioned, and I didn't love that the Rabbi was pretty absent in his own house, but kids probably won't notice.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended. The 'prince' falls in love with the girl because she is smart. She's also brave and hard-working. (Though I wonder why she didn't quit that job once she learned a bit more about the city.)

[Vered · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

Seeing as part of my Hebrew name is Raisel, I couldn't NOT read this. The art is really really nice and I didn't realize until about half way through that this is just a Jewish Cinderella! I'm not huge on fairytale retellings but I was pleasantly surprised by this story!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting Cinderella story. This one takes place in Poland and does not include a wicked stepmother or stepsisters. I really enjoyed it!

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not generally a big fan of "take existing fairytale, change setting" types of stories, but Cinderella is vague enough, and i like our protagonist with agency, here

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Jewish retelling of Cinderella was rather dark in the beginning, and took a while to get my child interested. But, the ending made it all worth while. My daughter loved the ending.

[Sylvie Gold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrated by Susan Gaber

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Jewish Cinderella story set during Purim.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and empowering Jewish version of Cinderella. The illustrations are simple and are drawn from a variety of visual perspectives. The story feels authentic whether it is or not, I don't know. When her scholarly grandfather dies, Raisel is moves to the city penniless. A distinguished rabbi hires her to help his disgruntled and paranoid cook. An elderly beggar woman, touched by Raisel's kindness transforms her so that she can attend a Purim plsy. Raisel charms the Rabbi's son with a riddle bust has to make her exit. He searches for the woman who can answer the riddle and finds Raisel.

Passages and illustrations I really liked:
Looking out the window with the cook at Raisel's introduction to the rabbi's son.
The close up of Raisel in her Esther costume.
The last page is similar to The Kiss and the flowers are beautiful.
I love the twist of the riddle since the emphasis is on learning rather than beauty.
The riddle itself is clever and interesting


Questions for an active read aloud:
What does it say about Raisel that she doesn't want to be a burden on her family?
What is your impression of Purim from this story?
The main man is just the son of a rabbi, not a prince, how does that change the excitement of the story?
Are there any other ansers possible to the riddle?

I plan on using this because it is insightful to Jewish culture and, promotes a strong woman figure that is not based on beauty and carries the great message that learning makes you happy.

[Kristen Reyes · Rating 2 out of 5]

How accurate are representations of language, culture, setting, and relationships?
The culture of Raisel is Jewish. She serves her family, humbly, although they treat her poorly. This story resembles the one of Cinderella. The way that it is different is that Raisel studies and reads throughout her days spent in her home (not singing or talking to mice or birds). I do not know much about the Jewish culture but Raisel's character is family orientated, curious and intelligent.

• How is difference constructed, and what does it mean for a character’s belonging in an unequal world?
Differences are addressed briefly in the way that Raisel and her sisters value education. Her sisters cared more about material possessions and obtaining noble status while Raisel paid no attention to wealth. When she ends up meeting her prince, he selects her out of a group because of her riddle (not her looks). I enjoyed this refreshing twist on the classic story.

• How is material wealth acknowledged or taken for granted in a story, especially at a time of extreme poverty for fully a third of the children living in the US?
The setting of the story is set in a rural village (similar to the Cinderella story). The family of Raisel is possibly of the middle-to-lower class. She does her chores, sleeps and studies in the basement of the cottage. She may not be rich in possessions but she is rich in her mind. Her way of life is simple unlike her new boyfriends (who is a prince).

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Jewish Cinderella. This story is a lot more like the traditional Cinderella story. When Raisel’s grandfather dies, Raisel finds work in a rabbi’s house, working for his cook. She is a mean and overbearing women, like our known stepmothers. Instead of our heroine going to a party or ball, Raisel goes to a play. When the rabbi’s son goes looking for the mysterious woman, he is looking for someone who could tell a riddle. I really liked the knight in shiny armor wants a woman for her wit and intelligence. Another difference is that Raisel runs into a poor woman, and is kind to her. For a reward the poor woman grants Raisel three wishes; so in this story there is no fairy godmother. This story is a cultural Cinderella.
I love stories that readers can relate to a character in the story. I feel that everyone can relate to Cinderella, because at one time we feel that we are treated unfairly and want a fairy godmother to come to the rescue.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What's more precious than rubies, more lasting than gold?'" Raisel's riddle wins the heart of her handsome prince in this Eastern European Cinderella story. Poverty and jealousy are always obstacles to love in the Cinderella legend, which here in the United States is most familiar as Charles Perrault's 300 year-old French tale. In Raisel's Riddle, Cinderella is the granddaughter of a beloved scholar. Though Raisel looses her Zaydeh as Cinderella looses her parents, he leaves her with a valuable gift, the answer to the riddle that enables her love to recognize her. The distinquishing element here is that learning and intelligence are part of love. This is something girls who love books and their fathers should appreciate. The lovely Purim setting with Raisel dressed as Queen Esther is breathtaking.

[Erin Cupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a Purim Cinderella story! Orphan Raisel is raised by her Zaydeh (grandfather), who gives her a rich, scholarly education, even teaching her the Talmud. When Zaydeh dies, Raisel must strike out on her own. After much wandering, the rabbi in the big city makes his cook take Raisel on as her assistant, but Cook is not happy about this. The story that follows echoes the Cinderella story, but instead of great shoes making the match, Raisel's prince finds her because of her great mind. I'm sure some feminist somewhere has something to say about how a smart girl shouldn't get her happy ending by working in a kitchen and marrying a prince... but I'm not some feminist anywhere. Raisel's Riddle shows that a girl's greatest gifts are kindness and wisdom, and by being clever and kind and generous, her true beauty stands out from even the loveliest Purim costumes.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Jewish Cinderella tale stresses the importance of scholarship, intelligence and goodness of heart as the traits needed to win a Rabbi’s son. When Raisel finds herself orphaned by her grandfather’s passing, she heads to the city looking for work and lands a job in the household of a Rabbi where she is mistreated by the cook. After sharing her meager meal with a beggar woman Raisel is granted three wishes and finds herself at the Purim play where she impresses the Rabbi’s son with her intellect, wit and a riddle. Racing home as the clock strikes midnight, Raisel leaves the Rabbi’s son searching for the girl who can answer this riddle.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Jewish take on Cinderella starring Raisel, a well educated young woman. Raisel had to work as a scrub girl in the kitchen of a well-to-do rabbi following the death of her rabbi grandfather Zaydeh. Thanks to an old beggar woman who grants Raisel three wishes, Raisel was able to attend a costume party at Purim dressed as Queen Esther. There, she meets the rabbi's son who falls in love with her for her intelligence rather than her beauty after hearing her riddle. I would recommend this tale, refreshing!

[Lisa Rathbun · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this Cinderella tale set in Poland in the late 1800s during the Purim festival. The rabbi's son (instead of the prince) is attracted by her beauty but intrigued by her brains. Their brief conversation is actually more discussion than most Cinderella tales show between the two main characters, but she flees, leaving him with a riddle. I love that she is valued for her knowledge not just her appearance. (The only thing I don't like is the strange final picture, where they look like they are lying down. Supposed to be dreamlike, I think, but just looked kind of weird to me.)

[Sheniqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is similar to Cinderella where an orphaned girl leaves her home with her grandfather after he dies. She goes in search for food and work and comes across a rabbi's home. However, the cook is not delighted. In the end, Raisel finds her Prince Charming, the rabbi's son, and marries him. I would use this book to discuss different genre such fairytales and talk about this book being considered an adaptation.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who would think that modern-day kids would still fall in love with a Cinderella story? Both my school-age daughter and son enjoy this charming tale and have asked me to read it to them many times. Extra points to the author for having a female protagonist who loves learning Torah with her grandfather, and for the moral element that makes the story more meaningful.