Okay, I have to admit it. The 8 year old child in me loves this picture book! It’s my kind of story. Golem, written and illustrated by David Wisniewski (pronounced Wiz-ness-ski), is a terrific story. The bad guys finally get what’s coming to them! What child hasn’t wished, at one time or another, that he or she had a friend who, by size alone, could keep the bullies at bay? How many times has a child been hurt by words, or deeds, simply because someone else held the upper hand and the child was defenseless to fight back? How many times have we wished someone would teach those bullies a lesson? Well, in this story, somebody, or actually some thing, finally did!

This book is an opportunity for all of us to learn not only this folk tale, but other lessons, too. One lesson to be learned from a tale such as Golem is that if you push too hard, for too long, pay back time will come just as soon as your victims can figure out how to do unto you what you’ve been doing to them!

Background notes

According to the Encyclopedia Mythica...

(http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/g/golem.html)

“In Jewish legend, a golem is an image or form that is given life through a magical formula, such as the power of the letters of the divine name. The word is used to denote anything that is not yet fully developed. In the Middle Ages it was believed that there were wise men who could instill life in effigies by the use of a magic spell. These golems then took the form of a robot, or automaton. They would carry out their master's command and could perform easy tasks, as well as protecting their creators.”

Folk tales about golems come in many versions, including this particular legend which is based on the interweaving of historical facts and wishful, creative storytelling. Hundreds of years before this folk tale takes place in 1580, vicious lies were told about the Jews. It was claimed that they killed Christian children to get their blood and use it as an ingredient in the making of matzos! This horrendous falsehood is known as the Blood Libel, or Blood Lie.

Ignorant and foolish people persecuted Jews as a result of those reprehensible lies. These are historical facts and those circumstances are the basis for the creation of Jewish folk tales about a golem who could exact vengeance upon their tormentors. Talk about man’s inhumanity to man! How could people tell such lies when they knew what would happen to the innocent victims of those lies? How could anyone believe such trash?

Plot notes

David Wisniewski’s Golem is a folk tale about a devout rabbi praying to God for an answer to the danger surrounding the Jews in the Prague ghetto due to the spread of the Blood Lie in that city. The answer the rabbi received caused him to create a golem from riverbank clay to be their Protector until the people spreading the vicious lies could be caught and punished by the authorities.

The first words Golem said upon his creation were, “Father...was this wise to do?” The rabbi replied that they’d know soon enough. Then Golem did what he was created for--apprehending the real killers of the children and protecting the Jews in the ghetto from the rampaging mob--thus resolving the problems in Prague caused by the Blood Lie.

During this time, Golem was slowly acquiring human traits--appreciating of the beauty of a sunrise, inhaling the scent of a rose, delighting in the flight of a pigeon. Finally, his job was finished. It was time for him to be returned to the earth from which he was created.

At first, this may not seem fair to a child. Golem did everything that the rabbi told him to do. Is this how he should be repaid? With destruction? Children may be disturbed by this, but David Wisniewski says that, “The story of the Golem serves as a cautionary tale about the limits of human power.” After all, only God can create a human life, imbue a body with a soul--not man.

Perhaps an easier explanation for our youngsters, children raised in the world of electronics, computers, robotic toy dogs, etc., is to remind them that we, too, create tools to help ourselves. We create machinery, equipment, vehicles, computers, etc. Golem was NOT a human being. He was created by the rabbi as a tool to save their ghetto. When the job was done, he was respectfully disassembled (“Though Golem had not truly been a man, they recited Kaddish, the prayer for the dead...”). That’s a lot better than dumping him in the junkyard as we do with other pieces of equipment we no longer need!

Closing notes

David Wisniewski’s known for his cut-paper illustrations. They are magnificent works of art. The patience and craftsmanship involved boggle the mind. Could he have created these three-dimensional layouts in anything less than many months? I doubt it. I also doubt that most children can appreciate his art. Adults surely will.

Contemporary Authors, vol. 160, quotes from David Wisniewski’s Caldecott Medal acceptance speech for Golem, “...making words and pictures fit and flow in narrative harmony is enormously satisfying....What a privilege! What an opportunity! What a responsibility.”

It’s a responsibility he takes seriously. Contemporary Authors says he once commented, “I try to create richly detailed, obsessively accurate, original folk tales set in ancient cultures, but with modern messages. I consider the work my ministry, my service to others.”

I hope he never stops bringing his form of ministry and beauty into our lives and the lives of our children! If you like Golem as much as I did, then you’ll be pleased to note that David Wisniewski’s also written and used the same cut-paper illustration techniques for these other folk tales:

Elfwyn’s Saga (Icelandic)
Rain Player (Mayan)
Sundiate: Lion King of Mali (Mali)
The Warrior and the Wise Man (Japan)
The Wave of the Sea-Wolf (Tlingit)

Final notes

David Wisniewski’s Golem is available as:

* a hardback of 31 pages (Dimensions [in inches]: 0.35 x 11.26 x 9.52), published by Clarion Books in October, 1996, School & Library Binding ISBN: 0395726182, Reading level: Ages 9-12, list price $15.95 US

If you’d like to look at Golem before buying your own copy, you can find this book at your local library in the Children’s Section usually as J 398.21089924 WIS, or BM531.W57 1996.

By the way, when your children outgrow this book, you can recycle it at your local library. Most libraries accept used books in good condition to:

* add a new book title to their shelves
* replace their worn-out copy of that title, or
* sell to raise money, and
the IRS accepts your book gifts to libraries as charitable donations just as if you had donated cash instead.

How about that? I know donated books make a big difference at my small library.


Recommended: Yes