Abstract:
Jewish children's literature has become an important method for developing Jewish
American identity in recent decades. A Jewish children's book, when carefully selected
for the right child at the right moment, has the potential to equip the child to claim his or
her own Jewishness and position within a larger community, rich with history and
meaning. When the golem figure is at the helm of a children's book, I have found this potential can sway perilously on his broad shoulders.
American Jewish children's literature has offered a plethora of diverse golem adaptations. Based on research into the world of children's literature and Jewish identity
development, interviews with children's book authors and illustrators, and a survey of
nearly forty American children's books and comic books, I have sorted representations of
the golem figure into four distinct categories. These categories include: the religious
champion golem (upheld within some highly observant American Jewish circles); the
terrifying golem (an historic European-Jewish ghost story); the universal superhero
golem (presented in some American comic books); and the happy helpmate golem
(shown in some children's picture books). These categories are characterized not simply
by the textual and aesthetic representation of the golem character in a particular book, but
also by the overall book's potential impact on a young American Jewish readership.
Within some religious denominations or communities, one category of golem may be
popularized for strategic reasons while in another community that same golem figure is
eschewed for one more suited to its constituency. The golem is a powerful figure, and a
golem story can have complex ramifications depending on the age, identity, and
parentage of the reader in today's diverse and nuanced American Jewish community. I
argue that though all golem children's books may have their place in a household's
library, some titles do more harm than good in cultivating a young American reader's
Jewish identity.
