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Jewish Folklore

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Folktales include all forms of narrative - - written or oral - - handed down through the years and reflecting the lives and imaginations of the people. According to Aarne-Thompson, the three types of tales are: Animal * Tales, Ordinary * Folktales, and Jokes and * Anecdotes. They categorized the tales using motifs. *.

Jewish Folktales

Brodsky, Beverly. The Golem: A Jewish Legend. [CZECHOSLOVAKIA] [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (golem created by Rabbi Lev to protect the Jews of Prague from angry mobs)
Gershator, Phillis. Honi's Circle of Trees. Philadelphia: Jewish Pub. Society, 1994. (unp.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [ISRAEL] (Circle Maker plants carob seeds)
Gerstein, Mordicai. The Shadow of a Flying Bird: A Legend of the Kurdistani Jews. NY: Hyperion Books for Children, 1994. (unp.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [KURDISTAN] (God takes Moses' soul with a single kiss when Moses refuses to give it up)
Gilman, Phoebe. Something from Nothing: Adapted from a Jewish Folktale. NY: Scholastic, 1993. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (Joseph's baby blanket is transformed into smaller and smaller items as he grows)
Gold, Sharlya. The Answered Prayer, and Other Yemenite Folktales. Philadelphia: Jewish Pub. Society, 1990. (65 ps.) [YEMEN] [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (folklore and beliefs of Yemenite Jews)
Goldin, Barbara Diamond. Journeys with Elijah: Eight Tales of the Prophet. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1999. (77 ps.) [JEWS - FOLKLORE] (8 stories about Elijah, the Old Testament prophet)
Gordon, Erica. The Rabbi's Wisdom: A Jewish Folk Tale from Eastern Europe. NY: Bedrick/Blackie, 1991. (unp.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [EASTERN EUROPE] (man seeks advice from Rabbi because of his overcrowded and noisy home) ("it could always be worse" theme)
Gordon, Ruth. Feathers. NY: Macmillan, 1993. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [CHELM, POLAND] (Yiddush tale involving the foolish villagers of Chelm who this time worry about the safety of the money they must collect to built a new one)
Greenberg, Blu. King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. NY: Pitspopany Press, 1997. (48 ps.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [AFRICA - ETHIOPIA] (riddles and challenges as Queen of Sheba (Makeda) comes to Jerusalem to test King Solomon's wisdom)
Greene, Jacqueline Dembar. What His Father Did. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. (32 ps.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (beggar tricks innkeeper to give him a free dinner)
Jaffe, Nina. Tales for the Seventh Day: A Collection of Sabbath Stories. NY: Scholastic Press, 2000. (73 ps.) [JEWS - FOLKLORE; LEGENDS - JEWS] (collection of traditional Jewish tales and legends from the Talmud and other sources celebrating the holiest day of the week)
Jaffe, Nina. The Uninvited Guest and Other Jewish Holiday Tales. NY: Scholastic, 1993. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (tales and legends related to major Jewish holidays)
Jaffe, Nina. The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition. NY: Holt, 1998. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [POLAND - EASTERN EUROPE]
Jaffe, Nina. While Standing on One Foot: Puzzle Stories and Wisdom Tales from the Jewish Tradition. NY: Henry Holt, 1993. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (17 selection from eras and places in Jewish history)
Kimmel, Eric. The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol. NY: Holiday House, 1995. (64 ps.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (clever man who lived by his wits)
Kimmel, Eric. Gershon's Monster: A Story of the Jewish New Year. NY: Scholastic Press, 2000. (unp.) [JEWS - FOLKLORE] (Hasidid legend featuring Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer where a Jewish man's sins threaten the lives of his twin children causing him to repent)
Kimmel, Eric. Onions and Garlic: An Old Tale. NY: Holiday House, 1996. (unp.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (youngest of a merchant's 3 sons trades a sackful of onions for a fortune in diamonds)
Lester, Julius. When the Beginning Began: Stories About God, the Creatures, and Us. San Diego: Silver Whistle, 1999. (100 ps.) [JEWS - FOLKLORE] (Collection of traditional and original Jewish tales interpreting the creation of the world from the Bible)
Orgel, Doris. The Flower of Sheba. NY: Bantam Books, 1994. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (Sheba tests Solomon who gets help from a bee)
Ouaknin, Marc-Alain. I'll Tell You a Story. Mankato, Minn.: Creative Education, 1997. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (story of Maimonides whose morality was tested by a sultan)
Parrish, Shelley Berlin. Sharing Grandma's Gift. Milwaukee, Wis., Peanut Butter Pub., 2000. (unp.) [JEWS- FOLKLORE] (grandmothers, granddaughter, quilt)
Podwal, Mark. The Book of Tens. NY: Greenwillow Books, 1994. (unp.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [MIDRASH LEGENDS] (Talmudic use and interpretation of 10 in the Bible)
Prose, Francine. The Angel's Mistake: Stories of Chelm. [EASTERN EUROPE - POLAND] [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (botched mission of angels created the fools in Chelm)
Prose, Francine. The Demon's Mistake: A Story from Chelm. [EASTERN EUROPE - POLAND] [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (demons from Chelm go to New York)
Prose, Francine. You Never Know: A Legend of the Lamed-Vavniks. NY: Greenwillow Books, 1998. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (Schmuel the shoemaker, though mocked by the other villagers, turns out to be a very special person)
Renberg, Dalia Hardof. King Solomon and the Bee. NY: HarperCollins, 1994. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (A bee repays King Solomon's kindness by helping him solve the Queen of Sheba's riddle)
Rothenberg, Joan. Yettele's Feathers. NY: Hyperion Books for Children, 1995. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [EASTERN EUROPE - POLAND] (gossiper learns a lesson)
Rush, Barbara. The Jewish Year: Celebrating the Holidays. NY: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2000. (176 ps.) [JEW - FOLKLORE AND LEGENDS] [JUDAISM - CUSTOMS] (observation of festivals that commemorate historical events, celebrate nature and the harvest, and inspire spiritual renewal)
Sanfield, Steve. The Feather Merchants and Other Tales of the Fools of Chelm. NY: Beech Tree Books, 1993. (114 ps.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [EASTERN EUROPE - POLAND] (foolish tales from Chelm's silly citizens)
Sanfield, Steve. Strudel, Strudel, Strudel. NY: Orchard Books, 1995. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [EASTERN EUROPE - POLAND] (why teachers living in Chelm may not live on the top of a hill, own a trunk with wheels, nor eat apple strudel)
Schram, Peninnah. Ten Classic Jewish Children's Stories. NY: Pitsopopany Press, 1990. (45 ps.) [JEWS FOLKLORE] (10 tales from the Talmud and Midrash)
Schwartz, Howard. The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic. NY: Viking, 2000. (80 ps.) [JEWS - FOLKLORE] (12 tales related to Jewish holidays, dybbuks, enchantments, angels, secret meanings of dreams and names)
Schwartz, Howard. The Diamond Tree:Jewish Tales from Around the World. NY: HarperCollins, 1991. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (Palestine, Iraq, Turkey, Babylon, Yemen, Morocco, Poland, Eastern Europe, Germany)
Schwartz, Howard. A Journey to Paradise: And Other Jewish Tales. . NY: Jerusalem: Pitspopany Press, 2000. (48 ps.) [JEWS - FOLKLORE] [LEGENDS, JEWS] (8 magical tales reflecting on the aspirations, mores, problems, and humor of the Jewish people from Eastern Europe, Tunisia, Israel, and Yemen)
Schwartz, Howard. The Sabbath Lion: A Jewish Folktale from Algeria. NY: HarperCollins, 1992. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] [ALGERIA] (special protection for traveling during the Sabbath)
Schwartz, Howard. The Wonder Child and Other Jewish Fairy Tales. NY: HarperCollins, 1996. (66 ps.) [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (8 tales from Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions of Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Eastern Europe. Includes European variants of Snow White ("Wonder Child" - Egypt), Rumpelstiltskin ("The Forest Witch"), Sleeping Beauty ("Wonder Chil))
Silverman, Erica. Raisel's Riddle. NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1999. (unp.) [JEWS - FOLKLORE] (Jewish Cinderella story - Purim Ball)
Wisniewski, David. Golem. [CZECHOSLOVAKIA - PRAGUE] [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (16th century Jews watched over by a life-size clay giant)
Yolen, Jane. Milk and Honey: A Year of Jewish Holidays. NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1995. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (history, customs, stories of Jewish calendar year)
Ziefert, Harriet. Cow in the House. NY: Viking, 1997. [JEWISH FOLKLORE] (bothered by his noisy house, a man goes to a wise man for advice)

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For a broadened view of folklore, refer to The Folktale by Stith Thompson for tale types and motifs.

For your reading enjoyment, peruse "Folk Tales of the North American Indians" by Stith Thompson. It includes tales categorized by culture group and motif.