Shlemazel and the Remarkable Spoon of Pohost by Ann Redisch Stampler, illustrated by Jacqueline M. Cohen Preschool-Grade 3 40 pages Clarion July 2006 Hardcover     It is wonderful to find a story for children that gently instructs by illustration, for that is how the best lessons of childhood are taught. Ann Redisch Stampler does exactly that in this tale that combines old and new-world values. Schlemazel, a man without any luck whatsoever, does not know it, but he has a most excellent friend in Moshke the tinker. While other men in the village complain of Schlemazel’s laziness and stubbornness (“Pancakes and honey will rain from the sky before Schlemazel changes his ways”), Moshke is convinced that if they could just persuade the man that there is a way to find his luck, he would be a more happy and productive part of the community. Moshke, a wise and generous man, devises a plan that will spur Schlemazel into action. He gives him the spoon of Pohost (Stampler’s grandmother immigrated from this small village in Eastern Europe). Moshke tells the unlucky man that the spoon finds luck and presses it onto him as a gift. Further, he gently guides the man into taking up tasks that will change his luck, encouraging him as each task is completed until he finds a way of life that suits him. Schlemazel meets Chava, the lovely daughter of the local baker, and begins to see how hard work and diligence can replace good luck. This is a fine tale, told in a gentle, old-world style. The illustrations are well done by Jacqueline M. Cohen. Cohen’s depiction of Schlemazel changes through the story: he is barefoot and dressed in patched clothing, moving into a bit better though still shabby clothing, and at the end he has earned shoes and neatly pressed workman’s clothing as he turns his luck around.   web reviews   Pamela Crossland/2006 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)