Yitzi: The Trusty Tractor by Naomi Shulman, illustrated by Shelley Couvillion; Awagam, Massachusetts; bbHarold Grinspoon Foundation (c) 2020; 22 pages.
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — The current selection for the PJ Library, mailed free to Jewish children whose families request, age-appropriate Jewish stories is about a self-sufficient farmer named Sarah, who knows how to change her tractor’s oil, how to handle his clutch, and the right way to switch his gears. They were a great team, Sarah and Yitzi. Every Friday night, they would power down and do no work until after Shabbat was over. It was their routine for Sarah to have a sip of wine at the beginning of Shabbat, and for Yitzi to have a sip of gasoline.
However, economic hard times forced Sarah to sell Yitzi to her neighbor, Ruthie, who pledged to take care of Yitzi just as Sarah did. But one Friday night, Yitzi powered down and nothing Ruthie did could get Yitzi to start up again. She called over Sarah to find out what was the matter, and Sarah explained that Shabbat was Yitzi’s day of rest, just like it was hers. When Shabbat was over, she promised, Yitzi would work as hard as ever. And so he did. Ruthie was so pleased that she volunteered to share Yitzi with Sarah, and both their farms thereafter were successful.
The obvious lesson in this book is the value of observing Shabbat. The subliminal lesson is that women can do hard jobs like farming, and caring for tractors, just like men do.
The narrative and the illustrations work well together, and parents will enjoy reading this short book to children seated upon their laps.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com