Book Descriptions
for Big Dreams, Small Fish by Paula Cohen
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
No one in Shirley’s family thinks she’s old enough to help at the family store, even though she’s full of big ideas. But not even Shirley has been able to convince customers to buy gefiltefish. When Aunt Ida goes into labor, and Mama and Papa rush to the hospital, Mrs. Gottlieb and Shirley are on their own at the store. “Shirley wasted no time. She straightened. She decorated. She modernized. She advertised.” When her parents return, Shirley’s mother is pleased: The gefiltefish is gone! But when they look in the register her parents are dismayed. There’s so little money! It turns out Shirley gave the gefiltefish away with a “Buy anything and get a surprise!” offering: one can with every purchase. The next morning, however, neighbors are lined up out the door, waiting to buy more of the new (to them) delicacy. “You know Shirley, you have some pretty good ideas in that keppele after all.” The spirited illustrations are a perfect match for the energy of this story about a white Jewish girl living in a diverse neighborhood in the early 20th century. Yiddish words and phrases are incorporated throughout the story. (Ages 4-8)
CCBC Choices 2023. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2023. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
Sydney Taylor Honor Book
In the new country, Shirley and her family all have big dreams. Take the family store: Shirley has great ideas about how to make it more modern! Prettier! More profitable! She even thinks she can sell the one specialty no one seems to want to try: Mama’s homemade gefilte fish.
But her parents think she’s too young to help. And anyway they didn’t come to America for their little girl to work. “Go play with the cat!” they urge.
This doesn’t stop Shirley’s ideas, of course. And one day, when the rest of the family has to rush out leaving her in the store with sleepy Mrs. Gottlieb…Shirley seizes her chance!
P R A I S E
“Charming. Paula Cohen tells an all-American tale of the Yiddish diaspora.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Timeless: an indomitable protagonist and the loving family who dotes on her.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Beautifully illustrated….Shirley is one smart child, a real asset to her striving family. She is full of innovative ideas, which are depicted by Cohen with both humor and respect.”
—Jewish Book Network
"An affectionate ode to family, fish, and creative problem solving."
—BookPage
In the new country, Shirley and her family all have big dreams. Take the family store: Shirley has great ideas about how to make it more modern! Prettier! More profitable! She even thinks she can sell the one specialty no one seems to want to try: Mama’s homemade gefilte fish.
But her parents think she’s too young to help. And anyway they didn’t come to America for their little girl to work. “Go play with the cat!” they urge.
This doesn’t stop Shirley’s ideas, of course. And one day, when the rest of the family has to rush out leaving her in the store with sleepy Mrs. Gottlieb…Shirley seizes her chance!
P R A I S E
“Charming. Paula Cohen tells an all-American tale of the Yiddish diaspora.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Timeless: an indomitable protagonist and the loving family who dotes on her.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Beautifully illustrated….Shirley is one smart child, a real asset to her striving family. She is full of innovative ideas, which are depicted by Cohen with both humor and respect.”
—Jewish Book Network
"An affectionate ode to family, fish, and creative problem solving."
—BookPage
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
