Module 3: Golem by David Wisniewski

Book Summary: Set in Prague, 1580, Golem tells the tale of how the Jewish citizens of Prague were forced to live in ghettos and were treated cruelly by the other citizens. Seeing that his people needed help, Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, created Golem, a "giant of living clay, animated by Cabala..." (Wisniewski, 1996). Golem helped the Jewish people by keeping them safe. But he also fell in love with living, and wanted to continue doing so even when the Rabbi turned him back into clay.

APA Citation: Wisniewski, D. (1996). Golem. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Impressions: This last summer I had the chance to visit Prague. While there, I learned the history of Golem while touring the synagogues and old community in the Jewish ghetto. The story is very much a part of Prague's history; some believing in it while others find it as only a folktale.

This illustrated children's book does a good job of bringing the story to life. Wisniewski uses paper artwork to bring the beautiful, historic city and unique, dark story to life. The artwork is very fitting for the story, although I was at first not sure if I liked it or not. On my second reading I found more of the story that unfolded layer by layer within the artwork.

In the story of Golem that I heard while in Prague, Golem became a dangerous creature that killed people after the Rabbi lost control of it. It was interesting to see how the story has different tellings depending on who and where they are told. I loved seeing a part of another culture's history come to life, especially for children.

Professional Review: 

The much honored cut-paper master (Sundiata, 1992, etc.) turns his attention to a retelling of the story of the Golem, created by a chief rabbi, Judah Loew, to defend the Jews against the ``Blood Lie'' (that Jews were mixing the blood of Christian children with the flour and water of matzoh) of 16th-century Prague. Like Rogasky's book (see review, above), Wisniewski's exposes the slander that was embraced and widely promulgated during the Holocaust years. Loew's Golem--a sort of simple yet powerful giant made of clay with the Hebrew word emet (truth) on his forehead--is named Joseph and charged to ``guard the ghetto at night and catch those planting false evidence of the Blood Lie . . . and bring them unharmed to the authorities.'' In Wisniewski's story, the Golem turns back the rampaging masses who want to destroy the Jews of Prague and is eventually returned to the clay from which he sprang. The cut-paper collages are exquisitely produced and exceedingly dramatic. There is menace and majesty in Wisniewski's use of color, and he finds atmosphere and terror in a scissor's stroke. A fact- filled final note concludes this mesmerizing book. (Picture book/folklore. 6-10)

Kirkus Review. (2010). [Review of the book Golem by D. Wisniewski]. Kirkus review. Retrieved February 4, 2015 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-wisniewski/golem/

Library Uses: Golem could be used for a Holocaust remembrance display or a display on folktales from around the world.