Yiddish with Dick and Jane

by Ellis Weiner, Barbara Davilman

Jane is in real estate.

Today is Saturday.

Jane has an open house.

She must schlep the Open House signs to the car.

See Jane schlep.

Schlep, Jane. Schlep.

Schlep, schlep, schlep.

In text that captures the unique rhythms of the original Dick and Jane readers, and in 35 all-new illustrations, a story unfolds in which Dick and Jane--hero and heroine of the classic books for children that generations of Americans have used when learning to read--manage to express shades of feeling and nuances of meaning that ordinary English just can't deliver. How? By speaking Yiddish, employing terms that convey an attitude--part plucky self-assertion, part ironic fatalism. When Dick schmoozes, when Jane kvetches, when their children fress noodles at a Chinese restaurant, the clash of cultures produces genuine hilarity.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Language, Judaism, Jewish, Judaica, Reference

112 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2004

Reviews

[dianne b. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of the eighty or so Yiddish words included in this silly book twenty are words that are simply insults or words for confusion.
Need to know the difference between a shnorrer and a shtunk? Or maybe between a shlemiel and a shlimazl (the former is always spilling his soup, the latter is who the soup gets spilled on)? This book may be for you.
Also a plethora of words for crappy and cheap.
Maybe it says more about the language.
Like the Inuit have many words for snow.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was first brought to my attention by a friend on Live Journal. I got it for Bumma who read it and said, "I need this like a loch in kop". (Hole in the head for you goyim out there.)

It was fun, but honestly, I need to stop reading books like this, because they just try too hard and never match up to The Joys of Yiddish .

And what Jew names their daughter Katie?

[Frederic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun, and not just because of the way it illuminates the number of yiddish words we use every day in English.

The authors take a very white bread, WASPy looking family and put them through several unexpected scenarios. The storyline, the yiddish terminology coming out of the mouths of these characters and the satire, both of modern life and of the cloying Dick and Jane readers, make this book subversive and very funny. Dick and Jane's aunt teaches structural post feminist ceramics, but somehow isn't completely happy.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little novelty book for Jews who grew up with a bisl of Yiddish getting thrown into everyday conversation. Its a 15 minute read that will make you smile.

[Daniel A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yiddish with Dick and Jane by humorists Ellis Weiner (best known, perhaps, for his work with National Lampoon) and Barbara Davilman is something (but not entirely) of an odd book. On the surface, it seems like parody, but, particularly for Jewish audiences—for whom this book is probably most targeted, in part for reasons I describe below—it reads as satire. In part, this is conveyed by the character of Sally within the book, but Weiner and Davilman couldn't possibly be clearer than they are in their afterword to the book: Yiddish with Dick and Jane very pointedly satirizes the 1950s-esque, white-bread (and -washed), suburban family that is the subject of the original "Dick and Jane" primers, and moreover does so in a Jewish milieu, obliquely suggesting the very real, albeit often genteel and subliminal, antisemitism that pervaded the real-world milieu of the "Dick and Jane" books. Yes, there's more than a hint of smarminess in Yiddish with Dick and Jane, but, especially given how many people are nostalgic for an era that wasn't necessarily such an excellent environment for anyone without virtually every privilege many of us acknowledge in the late 2010s, one gets the sense that Weiner and Davilman's smarminess is more-or-less deserved.

This is not to say that Yiddish with Dick and Jane is only intended for Jewish audiences (after all, it's hardly only Jewish people who often feel like outsiders in a Dick-and-Jane-y world); Weiner and Davilman's Yiddish glossary in the back of the book is largely accurate for all the nuance of Yiddish terminology and tone (although it does get marks off for a somewhat unpleasant fat-shaming "joke", specifically in regards to fressing). No, there's not necessarily capital-T Truth in Yiddish with Dick and Jane, but it may well be genuinely meaningful, at least on some level, to Jewish people and their fellow travelers.

[Tristan MacAvery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a mechayeh this book is! It wouldn't matter if a goy you've been all your life; a shtikl time with this book, a maven you'll be in no time!

One of the things this delightful little parody will provide is a glimpse at how much Yiddish has been absorbed into everyday American English (as opposed to British English, if you'll forgive the pilpul). Something that is less than quality might be schlock, and you might kibbitz (or give advice) on a card game (although the word actually means "gab" or "chat". The prefix of "shm-" is used to diminish: "Oscar, shmoscar, the movie stinks!" If you're hungry, you nosh. If you're a know-all in something, you're a maven. See how much you already know?

The real fun is finding a few more obscure (to the goyim -- non-Jewish people) terms and phrases that are so truly expressive. If you're worn out, you're oysgeshpilt (OYS-geh-shpilt, with the first syllable rhyming with "Royce"). Try saying it. Tired now? Or try nisht geferlich (NISHT geh-FAIR-lich), roughly "I've seen worse." Your daughter brings home a new boyfriend: "Nisht geferlich; at least his tattoos are spelled correctly."

Sit. Read. Have a laugh. It's good for you.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of the book is hilarious: Dick and Jane, all grown up and still living in suburbia. But this isn't the suburbia of Ward and June Cleaver. It's the suburbia of Desperate Housewives with a Yiddish twist.

It made me nostalgic for my years living in Miami Beach. Oy ve, where did the years go? Even the goyim who didn't grow up hearing Yiddish will love this book.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and kind of clever, a quick and occasionally educational read. I doubt many much-older people (my grandmother's age) would appreciate the humor and kids won't get the satire, but good for the mid-range folk.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book was written for people with two characteristics: they learned to read from the "Dick and Jane" books, and they grew up in an American-Jewish household where their parents spoke some Yiddish.

As I notched both categories, I enjoyed this book. Even though I only know about 20% of the Yiddish words and phrases therein, I liked the story's modernization tactic as well as, if not more than, seeing the Yiddish words.

Also, you can finish the whole book cover-to-cover in about 30 minutes -- maybe a bit longer if you include the entire glossary.

[James Ingram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. A bit odd for Brits brought up away from the goldene medina, and all the familiarity and specificity of those references in Dick & Jane originally. So it loses a bit of its transgression and cleverness elsewhere in the diaspora.
Even so, with a few more caustic phrases and original scenes and it could have been a great like Goodbye, Columbus.
The glossary is worth reading on its own.

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book right here reminds me of home more than any other book that I own. This isn't teaching Yiddish more than it is teaching Yinglish which brings back so many happy memories. The few happy memories of childhood. Yinglish was the language of safety. I never read any of the Dick & Jane stories when I was younger, but this really brings me home.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

“People are not nice.
They are mean.
I am on MatchMeIfYouCan.com and every man I meet is a shlemiel.

“I am lonely, frustrated, bored, and overweight.
My boss is a putz and I hate my hair.”

A laugh on every page, and if you don't know Yiddish you can look up the glossary in the back.

[Zoey Wyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all those out there scratching their heads after reading this, the author's note at the end makes all the difference. I wish it had been the introduction instead, then maybe my time reading wouldn't have been so arduous.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to re-read this after finishing Growing Up with Dick and Jane. All grown up & with kids of their own, Dick, Jane and Sally blend their world with the "real" world, with Yiddish phrases thrown in.
A mechaya

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember seeing this book on a Borders bookstore shelf in college and giggling with friends over "See Jane schlep. Schlep, Jane, schlep! Schlep, schlep, schlep." But we never actually read the rest. Reading it now, though, this satire of obliviously idyllic suburban life is perfect.

[Jonathan Strom]

this is NOT a children's book! haha. It is using the "Dick and Jane" concept with adult themes and a lot of Yiddish words. It's cute and funny. Great Yiddish glossary for all the vocab the author used.

[Amber Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading this book every time! Nice nostalgia

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such fun!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just a fun, quick look at just some of the Yiddish words that have found their way into mainstream conversation. Really enjoyed it.

[Neil Plakcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and quick, but thought-provoking at the same time.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A parody of the old Dick & Jane primers with a contemporary twist & Yiddish terms. A glossary of Yiddish words is in the back of the book. Amusing.

[Rebecca McPhedran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. And informative. A super fast read!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. My favorite was learning how pessimistic and ironically comical Yiddish is. I loved it.

[Rissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if you know all the words and phrases, don’t skip the glossary. The examples of usage are pure gold.

[Barbara Holford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad.

[Erica Blum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed and cried. A parody for everyone.

[Pamela Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not my sense of humor.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real hoot

A fun parody, visiting old friends Dick, Jane and Sally. Love the Yiddish twist as I have a friend who mixes her Yiddish in many conversations just let ke the book

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best children’s picture book ever created.