Posts Tagged ‘Parkchester’
Five Little Gefiltes
Traditional Tune (Sing to the tune of “Five Little Ducks”)
Words Adapted by Dave Horowitz
Illustrated by Dave Horowitz
This Singable Picture Book is VERY funny! You get lots of value and fun stuff outa this book. First, you get a primer on what Gefilte Fish actually is (and maybe you don’t really want to know). You get a fun Singable Picture Book with clever, snicker inducing adaptations of lyrics to a well-known and easy to sing tune. You also get an education in Yiddish.
My husband Charlie (who was a particularly “spirited” child) grew up in the Bronx, 1950′s and ’60′s, in an area called Parkchester. He lived on Metropolitan Oval. He grew up in a Jewish family. This is particularly interesting to me since I grew up in Indiana, occasionally attending a Methodist church. My people have plain mid-western white-bread accents (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). But many of my husband’s family and family friends have, what is to me, that highly expressive and comedy producing Bronx Jewish Accent. One of Charlie’s family friends, she’s now in her late 80′s, has what I consider to be the gold standard when it comes to this accent. A few years ago, Marion received a birth announcement for one of our children. She cawled us up and said “I caan’t believe Chahhlie could have such beyuuutiful children. He was such a rahhhhhht’n kid.”
And just to set the record straight, regardless of his childhood behavior, Charlie has grown-up to become a real mensch…and I’m not sayin’ that just because I’m his shiksa.
A HILARIOUS YouTube “reading” of this book (this lady Frieda sounds a lot like Marian!):
Mr. Horowitz has an enjoyable website:
http://horowitzdave.com
Here’s Dave Horowitz’s page about his book (which includes a podcast featuring the book):
http://www.horowitzdave.com/fiveLittle.htm
Can’t remember the tune? Try this karaoke sing-along track for “Five Little Ducks:
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Little-Ducks/dp/B0031GUV8Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1277563153&sr=8-1
**********************
12/15/2011
I’ve been singing “Five Little Gefiltes,” in honor of Hanukkah. Though it isn’t a Hanukkah song, I love that it celebrates some delightful aspects of Jewish culture, including food, Yiddish, and humor. This is one of my top favorite Singable Picture Books of all. Though I’ve sung it many times, it never fails to make me giggle.
**********************
Related Posts
HANUKKAH
A fun list of books to sing and celebrate Hanukkah!
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/singable-picture-books-for-hanukkah/
