Born in Belarus in 1895, Simon came to the US as a teenager. After serving in the US Army in World War I, he began a career as a dentist. Simon was a prolific writer, publishing 20 full-length Yiddish books and scores of articles and essays. His work ranged from biblical exegesis to folk stories, from autobiography to commentary on modern Jewish life and identity. A dedicated educator, Simon served as the director of a Sholem Aleichem Folkshul, taught Bible study groups, and was the president of the Sholem Aleichem Folk Institute. He was also an editor of the organization’s children’s magazine, the Kinder Zhurnal, where The Clever Little Tailor first appeared as a serial. Simon is best remembered as a children’s author; his treatment of the Chelm stories in Yiddish (Di Heldn fun Khelm) and in English (The Wise Men of Helm and their Merry Tales; More Wise Men of Helm) brought these stories into the homes of generations of American Jewish children. The Rabbi’s Bible, his abridged version of the Hebrew Bible with commentaries for children, was widely used in Sunday schools for a half century. Simon died in 1970. David R. Forman (Translator): The grandson of Yiddish author Solomon Simon, Dr. Forman was first a calligrapher and graphic artist, then a psychology researcher and college professor, before finally returning to his early love of writing. His poetry has been published online, in anthologies, and in literary journals such as Cimarron Review. Dr. Forman began studying Yiddish in his fifties to fulfill a lifelong vow to read and translate his grandfather’s work. He lives in Ithaca, NY, where he teaches a beginning Yiddish class at Cornell and catalogs Yiddish manuscripts for Cornell University Library.

Publisher: Kinder-Loshn Publications
Author: Solomon Simon
Illustrator: Yehuda Blum
ISBN: 1949217019
Size (H x W): 9x6
Weight: 1.7 pounds
Cover Type: Hardcover
Number of Pages: 224
Language: English, Other
Date Published: 2021-08-10