The Book:The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman
Publisher's Age Range: 9-14
Age of Main Character(s): 28 and 12 (the dybbuk)
Publisher's Description: Avrom Amos likes to crack jokes. He loves the spotlight. And if he wants something, he knows how to get it. He's just like any other boy, except for one thing: He's a ghost - a dybbuk. During World War Two he'd been murdered by the Nazis, right after he saved the life of a young ventriloquist named Freddie.
Freddie doesn't know it yet, but he's about to return the favor. Because the dybbuk wants revenge, and he knows exactly how to get it.
My Thoughts: This is a powerful book, about the reluctant friendship between an American Army veteran and the vengeful spirit of a murdered Jewish boy who possesses him. I think it would be an excellent introduction to the Holocaust, because, while it does not gloss over the atrocities of WWII, it gives the younger reader some much-needed distance from them. The book is about the Holocaust, but it is set in 1948, after the fact. Characters who die at the hands of the Nazis are already dead when the book opens, so there is no need to worry about whether or not they will be harmed.
While the dybbuk (which, by the way, is a type of vengeful spirit from Jewish folklore) is on a quest for revenge against the SS officer who murdered him and his sister, the book deals mainly with the relationship between Avrom (the dybbuk) and Freddie. I found Freddie difficult to like - he's casually self-centered in a way I found off-putting - but he is there for Avrom when he's needed, including during a bar mitzvah scene that was funny and still brought tears to my eyes. In fact, a strong thread of black humor runs through the entire novel. Avrom has some great lines as he masquerades as a ventriloquist's dummy.
Content Alerts: The Holocaust is, of course, a major theme of the novel, and the murder of Jews, including children, are described. A main character is possessed by a dybbuk. Antisemitism is discussed, and one character's uncle is a member of the Ku Klux Klan. This character is discussed in a dismissive, almost light-hearted way.
Inroads: World War II and the Holocaust, including some mentions of freedom fighters who opposed the Nazis. Judaism and legends of the dybbuk. Ventriloquism (Freddie is a ventriloquist who struggles with his craft). Author Sid Fleischman is the Newbery-award-winning author of The Whipping Boy.
Awards: The Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish Children's Literature
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