Quick-witted, clever, and funny, the legendary Hershel of Ostropol is one of folk-lore's great tricksters.This funny collection of stories follows the celebrated Jewish folk hero as he outwits everone: stingy innkeepers, fierce bandits, even his own father. The author, Eric Kimmel, first heard many of these stories growing up in Brooklyn and has collected others from oral histories and anthologies of Jewish folklore.Kimmel writes in his forward: "These stories reflect the values and cultural traditions of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. However, one does not have to be Jewish to enjoy them. Hershel, like Coyote, Ananasi, B'rer Rabbit, and Tyll Eulenspiegel, belongs to all of us."Illustrations from Caldecott-medalist Trina Schart Hyman grace the cover and introduce each story.Kimmel and Schart Hyman also collaborated on the classic Caldecott Honor book, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.