Trina Schart Hyman and Eric Kimmel: Fairy Tale Regulars

Trina Schart Hyman graced a previous A-Z post. As I state in that post, "I will return to Trina Schart Hyman when I review fairy tales/folklore. I have to give her credit here for the number of books she illustrated in all genres, from American history to contemporary drama."

Eric Kimmel has a similar resume: he has written picture books in multiple genres. Like Hyman, he tends to concentrate in certain areas, such as the Anansi series. 

They come together with Hanukkah. In fact, delightfully enough, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins was initially published in Cricket magazine--the great children's magazine of my childhood--when Marianne Carus was looking for a holiday story. 

As with Saint Francis & the Wolf, Caldecott Honor book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is located in fiction rather than in non-fiction--in this case, it was organized under general "Holiday Books." 

I selected it for A-Z List 7 because the Kimmel/Hyman picture book The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol pops up in my local library's 398 section.  

And Hershel of Ostropol is a good introduction to the Jack archetype, who will come up in a future post. Hershel is a cross between a trickster and Daniel Webster, as he outwits even goblins. 

Powerfully enough, in Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, he outwits them despite the synagogue being destroyed. The menorah remains lit. It is a testament to the Jewish experience: the ability to carry belief and culture with the group beyond temporary structures to wherever that group may end up. 

The text and illustrations together are magnificent. The 25th Anniversary Edition also includes a touching Afterword. When Hyman illustrated the story for Cricket, she sent Kimmel a letter: 

"I think you are a wonderful writer. One of the reasons I enjoyed working on this book--aside from the fact that it's a great story--is that you know how to write for the artist...what a pleasure it is to work on a manuscript that implies great visual stuff...you're among the greats...I think I drew [Hershel] just right. I may have even fall in love with him." 

For the Afterword, Kimmel states, "This is what she wrote to me when I was nobody from nowhere and she was one of the gods."