Terrible, Terrible!

A Folktale Retold by Robin Bernstein

Illustrated by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki

Frustrated with a house full of confusion and conflict, a village peasant seeks the wise counsel of his rabbi, whose first suggestion is to "bring your chickens into the house."

In Terrible, Terrible!, Robin Bernstein's contemporary version of this classic tale, the aggrieved party is Abigail, a young girl whose mother has just remarried. Her new family now includes her stepfather and four stepsisters and brothers, all of whom share a small house "stuffed with people and junk!"

Abigail, who can find no place to be alone, also seeks the advice of her rabbi, but it's the family's seven bicycles, not chickens, that she is advised to bring into the house. And then the three cats, two dogs, rabbit, and guinea pig. And finally the cousins... dozens of cousins.

Readers, young and old, will chuckle at the story, appreciate the rabbi's advice, and applaud Bernstein's wise and creative adaptation.

Artist Shauna Mooney Kawasaki, herself the mother of seven, brings to life this increasingly crowded household, with pictures of bicycles hanging from the ceiling, cats knocking over the plants, and cousins dancing the night away. In contrast, she paints a quiet, thoughtful rabbi, puttering in her garden, having a cup of tea, and comforting an increasingly incredulous Abigail.

Author Robin Bernstein is an editor of Bridges, a journal of Jewish feminist culture and politics. Her first book, Generation Q (Alyson Publications) was a finalist for a 1997 Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in more than a dozen books and 20 periodicals. Born in Brooklyn, NY, she now lives in Washington, DC.

Shauna Mooney Kawasaki, a resident of Provo, Utah, has been art director of the Friend, a children's magazine, for the past 20 years. She has written and illustrated several game and activity books.

Kar-Ben publishes over 100 books, calendars, and cassettes on Jewish themes for young children and their families.