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Sulamith Ish-Kishor

スラミス・イシュ＝キショア

Sulamith Ish-Kishor

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1896 （London, United Kingdom）
Died
1977-06-23 age 81
Nationality
United Kingdom, United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
London (birthplace) → New York City (family moved)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Children's author, Biographer
Active Years
1921-1971
Influenced By
Ephraim Ish-Kishor (father), Judith Ish-Kishor (sister)

Education

Hunter College
Languages and History / Department of Languages and History
Country: United States
Studied languages and history at Hunter College

Awards

National Jewish Book Award
1964
Work: A Boy of Old Prague
Organization: Jewish Book Council
Result: 受賞
Newbery Honor
1970
Work: Our Eddie
Organization: American Library Association
Result: オナー（候補）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Our Eddie

1969 Children's literature / Family novel

A children's novel that contrasts a father's abusive treatment of his child with the Jewish values he professes, questioning family and religious hypocrisy.

Family relationshipsReligion and moralityAbuse and redemption

A Boy of Old Prague

1963 Children's historical novel

Set in 16th-century Prague, the story follows the friendship between boys of different religious backgrounds and addresses antisemitism in late Renaissance Europe.

Interfaith friendshipAntisemitismHistorical setting

Appointment With Love

1943 Short story

A short story about a long-distance correspondence and its fateful conclusion, originally published in Collier's; later subject to plagiarism controversy.

Love and misunderstandingLetter correspondenceFate

The Carpet of Solomon: A Hebrew Legend

1966 Legend / Folktale

A children's book based on a Hebrew legend, emphasizing religious tradition and folktale elements.

LegendReligious traditionMorality

Bibliography

  • The Bible Story
  • The Heaven on the Sea, together with Twenty Poems
  • Friday night stories: Series I
  • Friday Night Stories. Series II
  • The Children's Story of the Bible, a Bible History for School And Home
  • Children's History of Israel (in 3 volumes)
  • Magnificent Hadrian: A Biography of Hadrian, Emperor of Rome
  • Jews to Remember
  • American Promise: A History of the Jews in the New World
  • Everyman's history of the Jews
  • The Palace of Eagles and Other Stories
  • A Stranger Within Thy Gates
  • Blessed Is the Daughter
  • How Theodor Herzl Created the Jewish National Fund
  • A Boy of Old Prague
  • The Carpet of Solomon: A Hebrew Legend
  • Zalman Shazar: President of the People
  • Pathways Through the Jewish Holidays
  • Our Eddie
  • Drusilla, a Novel of the Emperor Hadrian
  • The Master of Miracle: A New Novel of the Golem

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Religious and didactic narrationClear, concise style for childrenHistorical and legendary retellings
Recurring Motifs
Jewish tradition and historyFamily and moral conflictInterfaith understanding and conflict

Legacy

Sulamith Ish-Kishor is known for incorporating Jewish tradition into children's literature and biography. She received the National Jewish Book Award in 1964 and a Newbery Honor for Our Eddie; her works addressing antisemitism and family ethics have been referenced in educational contexts.

Archives

  • Library of Congress (LCCN record)

In Popular Culture

  • The short story "Appointment With Love" circulated widely and later became the subject of a plagiarism controversy.

Trivia

  • "Appointment With Love" was published in Collier's in 1943 and later became notable in a plagiarism dispute involving Max Lucado in the 1990s.
  • Her sister, Judith Ish-Kishor, was also a pioneering writer of Jewish children's literature in English.