While Standing on One Foot: Puzzle Stories and Wisdom Tales from the Jewish Tradition - Hardcover

Nina Jaffe is the author of The Way Meat Loves Salt and the biography of Harold Courlander, entitled A Voice for the People.

Steve Zeitlin is the director of City Lore in New York City. The two authors have also collaborated on a sequel to While Standing on One Foot, called The Cow of No Color.

John Segal's illustrations have appeared in picture books and numerous magazines.

Gr. 4-7. Quite different from Jaffe's recent collection of Jewish holiday stories The Uninvited Guest , this anthology of 17 folktales by and large eschews the magical and fabulous. Most of these tales, which are presented as intellectual puzzles, are solidly grounded in the ways of human nature and human ingenuity. The writing is full of life and often very funny. Each story is written in two parts (the first sets the scene; the second reveals how the conflict was resolved), separated by a question designed to challenge children's creative thinking skills and match their wisdom with the wisdom of the sages: "Can you guess how this clever traveler escaped his fate?" "If you were the beautiful princess, who would you choose?" The gimmick will pique children's interest, though it's unlikely kids will guess the actual solutions. The collection is wonderfully diverse, ranging from a classic tale about the wise fools of Chelm to one set in 1930s Germany. There's even an animal parable. Headnotes supply appropriate historical context and fill in cultural information gaps, while careful notes at the end of the book detail story sources. With black-and-white illustrations that have the appealing simplicity of children's own artwork, this is a stellar collection that will be read, pondered over, and enjoyed again and again. A glossary and bibliography are included. Stephanie Zvirin