Oy, the Chelm townsfolk are at again.
For centuries, the Jewish folktales that house their foolish antics have seen people who believe they are wise take part in great folly. The story goes that when God created the world, an angel was sent out with a bag of foolish souls to scatter evenly throughout the lands. However, the bag ripped and the whole lot of souls spilled in the same area. This place became known as Chelm. Since the late 19th century, as author Ruth Von Bernuth remarks in How the Wise Men Got To Chelm: The Life and Times of a Yiddish Folk Tradition, “Chelm has led a double life for Jews as both a real place and an imaginary one.”
In Audrey Barbakoff’s debut children’s book The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon, illustrated by Rotem Teplow, we land in a modern-day Chelm, which isn’t set in a shtetl but in a town any of us could find ourselves in. However, Barbakoff adds another twist: the children are wise, not foolish. When the adults believe the moon has fallen out of the sky and into the lake (but it’s only the moon’s reflection), hilarity ensues. Their attempts to salvage the moon involve a bucket, their bare heads, and think tanks that drum up ideas like training a whale. Their ridiculousness leaves siblings Sam and Sarah Schlemiel no choice but to find a way to convince the “most clueless grown-up[s]” that all is still right in the world if only they look up.
As a child, Barbakoff grew up listening to her teachers and rabbis tell Chelm stories and looked forward to hearing them each week; drawn to the rich tradition of humour in Judaism. Now, she gives children the opportunity to hear a new Chelm story. I spoke with Barbakoff, over video call, about her writing adventures, Jewish identity, and her role as a librarian and educator.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) no chelm-like antics were involved in the making of this interview.
What made you decide to put pen to paper and add your own spin to Chelm folktales?
I have a four-year-old and a baby. My four-year-old loves stories and to read, and we get PJ Library books. I love to be able to share Jewish stories with him and integrate them into our home and into his identity. I was thinking about these Chelm stories that I remember loving and thinking were so funny and I wanted to share them with him. They got famous in the U.S. when Isaac Bashevis Singer translated the tales from the Yiddish and retold them. But when I went back to the Singer version, I thought it’s not going to land with my four-year-old. They’re set in the shtetl, vaguely 1800 Eastern Europe, so it’s not anything that’s in their experience. There’s nothing for him to hook into. They’re mostly about adults, and kind of adult-related issues. He’s going to get bored and be off playing with his magnet tiles in two minutes. So I thought: How can I give him a window into these stories? Well, what if it was told through the eyes of kids? What if, in this town that is legendarily full of fools, the kids were really smart. Because he wants to be smarter than me, right? He’s always trying to sort of trick me or outsmart me and he thinks that’s hilarious. That was when Sam and Sarah kind of popped into my head.
Having kids be the smarter ones in the story is also what happens in so many aspects of life. Adults are often overcomplicating whereas kids are able to see things as they are, without any of the nonsense.
Kids see things through a different lens. They have a very different set of experiences than we do as adults and it’s important to listen to them and to treat their experiences and their voices as valid. Sometimes they’re going to see something that we miss, like the moon shining up there.
The illustrations are diverse and inclusive. Most of the time the publisher is in conversation with the illustrator, but did you ever speak to Rotem or the publishers about what you wanted the book to look like?
All I had said is that Sam and Sarah are in a mixed-race family and the neighbours are a diverse group. The publisher was the intermediary, Rotem and I never spoke directly to each other during the process, but she took what I said and turned it into a beautiful world. She brought the whole story to life. I had always envisioned Sam and Sarah as being from a mixed-race family and it was important to me that because this is a modern-day Chelm, the town should be a microcosm of the Jewish world today, to show and celebrate the diversity of who we are. There’s this perception we’re kind of a monolithic culture and even though we’re a very small group of people, we are wildly diverse. I want to show that and to be reflective of who we are as a people.
I want to shift to talking about libraries. With book bans and censorship on the rise, which is unbelievable in 2024, would you do us the honour of reminding us why libraries are so important to the communities they are in.
I always go back to this concept that came from scholar Rudine Sims Bishop who talks about books as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for children, and how important all of these things are for us. All kids, and all human beings, need mirrors. We need to see ourselves reflected. We need to see our experiences validated. If you never read a book about someone who looks like you or who comes from your background who has experiences similar to yours, you feel alone. To see yourself in a book is incredibly validating and makes you feel connected and valued. But then kids also need windows to see other people’s experiences. That’s how we build empathy. That is how we become people who can have difficult conversations with each other. Who can disagree and who can still see each other as people who can come together and build solutions and create diverse coalitions and make the world better. We need that empathy building and we need those sliding glass doors, the ability not just to look but to step out. Step out of our own experience and try to make a better world together. So if we silence some people’s stories, if we silence anyone’s stories because we disapprove or someone disapproves of who they are, or what they believe, or for any other reason, if we silence then we lose those stories, and kids lose those opportunities to see themselves, empathize with others, and be part of the whole world.
How have you been finding this time?
You said it’s sort of shocking in 2024 to see, but I would say for those of us in the industry, it is unfortunately not shocking because these are organized, funded, long-standing groups making a concerted national effort. So they have a big platform to have a loud voice. What is very heartening for me is that there has been some research done by fantastic organizations, like Every Library and United Against Book Bans, that show most people, by a large margin, do not support both banning and censorship. But when you say to people, “You should be able to choose what is right for you, and right for your family and no one else should be able to tell you or deny you access,” that resonates regardless of people’s political party, or their background, or affiliation. I hope that’s a hopeful message for people. We aren’t alone and most people do not support censorship.
And if a child goes to a library, or a bookstore, and takes out The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon, what would you want or hope they take away from reading the book?
I hope they laugh. I wrote this primarily because it’s funny. In a time where we’re seeing heightened antisemitism and a lot of stereotyping, I want kids to enjoy, celebrate, and have fun with Jewish identity, whether they are Jewish or not. Books on hate and the Holocaust are important, and I’m glad they are there, but we also need stories that just remind us that the Jewish experience is rich, diverse, and fun. It’s that simple. I hope they have fun.
It is important to show Jewish joy. Are you looking to tell more Chelm stories?
Absolutely. There are many Chelm stories and many versions of all of the ones that are out there, so I have been thinking about the many other antics that Sam and Sarah could get into in the future, and also turning an eye toward other folktales or other Jewish stories from our traditions and how those might look in a modern world.
When I originally wrote the book, it did not have a lot of Yiddish in it and it was actually a suggestion from the publisher and the editors to lean on that more and to put in a glossary. That has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of the whole book. It also makes me think about how I can bring Yiddish to future stories, and how I can help keep it woven into the texture of our daily lives.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Oy, the Chelm townsfolk are at again.
For centuries, the Jewish folktales that house their foolish antics have seen people who believe they are wise take part in great folly. The story goes that when God created the world, an angel was sent out with a bag of foolish souls to scatter evenly throughout the lands. However, the bag ripped and the whole lot of souls spilled in the same area. This place became known as Chelm. Since the late 19th century, as author Ruth Von Bernuth remarks in How the Wise Men Got To Chelm: The Life and Times of a Yiddish Folk Tradition, “Chelm has led a double life for Jews as both a real place and an imaginary one.”
In Audrey Barbakoff’s debut children’s book The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon, illustrated by Rotem Teplow, we land in a modern-day Chelm, which isn’t set in a shtetl but in a town any of us could find ourselves in. However, Barbakoff adds another twist: the children are wise, not foolish. When the adults believe the moon has fallen out of the sky and into the lake (but it’s only the moon’s reflection), hilarity ensues. Their attempts to salvage the moon involve a bucket, their bare heads, and think tanks that drum up ideas like training a whale. Their ridiculousness leaves siblings Sam and Sarah Schlemiel no choice but to find a way to convince the “most clueless grown-up[s]” that all is still right in the world if only they look up.
As a child, Barbakoff grew up listening to her teachers and rabbis tell Chelm stories and looked forward to hearing them each week; drawn to the rich tradition of humour in Judaism. Now, she gives children the opportunity to hear a new Chelm story. I spoke with Barbakoff, over video call, about her writing adventures, Jewish identity, and her role as a librarian and educator.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) no chelm-like antics were involved in the making of this interview.
What made you decide to put pen to paper and add your own spin to Chelm folktales?
I have a four-year-old and a baby. My four-year-old loves stories and to read, and we get PJ Library books. I love to be able to share Jewish stories with him and integrate them into our home and into his identity. I was thinking about these Chelm stories that I remember loving and thinking were so funny and I wanted to share them with him. They got famous in the U.S. when Isaac Bashevis Singer translated the tales from the Yiddish and retold them. But when I went back to the Singer version, I thought it’s not going to land with my four-year-old. They’re set in the shtetl, vaguely 1800 Eastern Europe, so it’s not anything that’s in their experience. There’s nothing for him to hook into. They’re mostly about adults, and kind of adult-related issues. He’s going to get bored and be off playing with his magnet tiles in two minutes. So I thought: How can I give him a window into these stories? Well, what if it was told through the eyes of kids? What if, in this town that is legendarily full of fools, the kids were really smart. Because he wants to be smarter than me, right? He’s always trying to sort of trick me or outsmart me and he thinks that’s hilarious. That was when Sam and Sarah kind of popped into my head.
Having kids be the smarter ones in the story is also what happens in so many aspects of life. Adults are often overcomplicating whereas kids are able to see things as they are, without any of the nonsense.
Kids see things through a different lens. They have a very different set of experiences than we do as adults and it’s important to listen to them and to treat their experiences and their voices as valid. Sometimes they’re going to see something that we miss, like the moon shining up there.
The illustrations are diverse and inclusive. Most of the time the publisher is in conversation with the illustrator, but did you ever speak to Rotem or the publishers about what you wanted the book to look like?
All I had said is that Sam and Sarah are in a mixed-race family and the neighbours are a diverse group. The publisher was the intermediary, Rotem and I never spoke directly to each other during the process, but she took what I said and turned it into a beautiful world. She brought the whole story to life. I had always envisioned Sam and Sarah as being from a mixed-race family and it was important to me that because this is a modern-day Chelm, the town should be a microcosm of the Jewish world today, to show and celebrate the diversity of who we are. There’s this perception we’re kind of a monolithic culture and even though we’re a very small group of people, we are wildly diverse. I want to show that and to be reflective of who we are as a people.
I want to shift to talking about libraries. With book bans and censorship on the rise, which is unbelievable in 2024, would you do us the honour of reminding us why libraries are so important to the communities they are in.
I always go back to this concept that came from scholar Rudine Sims Bishop who talks about books as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for children, and how important all of these things are for us. All kids, and all human beings, need mirrors. We need to see ourselves reflected. We need to see our experiences validated. If you never read a book about someone who looks like you or who comes from your background who has experiences similar to yours, you feel alone. To see yourself in a book is incredibly validating and makes you feel connected and valued. But then kids also need windows to see other people’s experiences. That’s how we build empathy. That is how we become people who can have difficult conversations with each other. Who can disagree and who can still see each other as people who can come together and build solutions and create diverse coalitions and make the world better. We need that empathy building and we need those sliding glass doors, the ability not just to look but to step out. Step out of our own experience and try to make a better world together. So if we silence some people’s stories, if we silence anyone’s stories because we disapprove or someone disapproves of who they are, or what they believe, or for any other reason, if we silence then we lose those stories, and kids lose those opportunities to see themselves, empathize with others, and be part of the whole world.
How have you been finding this time?
You said it’s sort of shocking in 2024 to see, but I would say for those of us in the industry, it is unfortunately not shocking because these are organized, funded, long-standing groups making a concerted national effort. So they have a big platform to have a loud voice. What is very heartening for me is that there has been some research done by fantastic organizations, like Every Library and United Against Book Bans, that show most people, by a large margin, do not support both banning and censorship. But when you say to people, “You should be able to choose what is right for you, and right for your family and no one else should be able to tell you or deny you access,” that resonates regardless of people’s political party, or their background, or affiliation. I hope that’s a hopeful message for people. We aren’t alone and most people do not support censorship.
And if a child goes to a library, or a bookstore, and takes out The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon, what would you want or hope they take away from reading the book?
I hope they laugh. I wrote this primarily because it’s funny. In a time where we’re seeing heightened antisemitism and a lot of stereotyping, I want kids to enjoy, celebrate, and have fun with Jewish identity, whether they are Jewish or not. Books on hate and the Holocaust are important, and I’m glad they are there, but we also need stories that just remind us that the Jewish experience is rich, diverse, and fun. It’s that simple. I hope they have fun.
It is important to show Jewish joy. Are you looking to tell more Chelm stories?
Absolutely. There are many Chelm stories and many versions of all of the ones that are out there, so I have been thinking about the many other antics that Sam and Sarah could get into in the future, and also turning an eye toward other folktales or other Jewish stories from our traditions and how those might look in a modern world.
When I originally wrote the book, it did not have a lot of Yiddish in it and it was actually a suggestion from the publisher and the editors to lean on that more and to put in a glossary. That has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of the whole book. It also makes me think about how I can bring Yiddish to future stories, and how I can help keep it woven into the texture of our daily lives.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.