Some of the details in this book kept with the oral traditions, but other things were different. The daughter, Mireleh, was the youngest in her family. She had her mother, father, and 2 sisters. In the original Cinderella, her mom died and she got a stepmother and 2 stepsisters. Even though Mireleh's sisters weren't her stepsisters, there were still 3 of them total. Mireleh got kicked out of her house and went to live with another rabbi, his wife, and son. They did make her live in the attic, but she didn't have to do chores. Mireleh wasn't allowed to go to the wedding, just like Cinderella wasn't allowed to go to the ball. Mireleh met a stranger, a man, that gave her a stick before she went to the rabbi's house. She had to tap it 3 times and make a wish. She went to the wedding and she danced at the reception with the rabbi's son. She lot her shoe, like Cinderella did and the rabbi's son vowed to marry the girl who fit the shoe. The twist in this book is that the stranger appeared in both the rabbi and his wife's dream to tell them that their son had to keep his promise to marry the girl who fit the shoe or there will be misfortune. Mireleh and the rabbi's son were married. She told the cooks not to put salt on the meat. Her dad showed up at the wedding, she went up to him and asked if there was something wrong with the food. He said there wasn't salt on the food. It was then that her father realized that when Mireleh said she loved him the way meat loves salt that she loved him a lot.

It was a very interesting story. I actually enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend this book to anyone. ( )

Being able to read this Jewish take on a fairy tale that we all know so well was very interesting. This book was very similar to the Cinderella that most Americans are so familiar with in many ways, but it was also quite different in many others, and I enjoyed being able to make comparisons between the two.Though I've never been a big Cinderella fan, I still greatly appreciated being able to read this version of the story. I think that this would be an excellent book to somehow incorporate into a lesson about world cultures and/or religions in a pk-3 class. ( )

This was a different Cinderella tale, it was only slightly similar to the Cinderella we're use to. In the Jewish tale we're missing wicked step sisters, a fairy god mother turning creatures into coachmen, and beautiful glass slippers. Instead, we read about a Rabbi who kicks his daughter out because he believed she did not love him. But before then she was never mistreated. Beautiful illustrations depicts how our jewish Cinderella, Mireleh woos a Rabbi son. Oils were used to create blended colors of red, blue, and green backgrounds. Great book to show children a glimpse of cultural differences. ( )

I had mixed feelings about The Way Meat Loves Salt, by Nina Jaffe. First, I enjoyed the "big picture" premise of the novel: good things will happen when people love and care for each other. This message is illustrated by the main character, Miraleh, who loves her family despite their failings.

I also enjoyed reading about Miraleh herself, as she was a very likable character. Miraleh, describes her love for her father as a meat's love for salt. This analogy showcases both Miraleh's honest personality and her straightforward attitude.

Unfortunately however, I found some of the story's plot points to be a bit random. For example, the story never explains why Miraleh wanted to go to a wedding in a far off town. Because Miraleh's motivations were not clear, it was hard for me to connect with the second part of the story.

Overall I enjoyed this book and its Jewish take on the classic Cinderella story. ( )

"The Way Meat Loves Salt" is a very different approach to the classic folktale of Cinderella. A Polish Jewish family is the root of this story. A Rabbi asks his three daughters how much they love him. When his youngest daughter, Mireleh, tells her father that she loves him as much as meat loves salt. As a result, he banishes her from the house. Another Rabbi takes her in and she appears at a wedding as a lovely maiden.

This is a lovely take on the traditional tale. It retains the classics of Cinderella, of going to a fancy event, magic to get the dress, and the missing slipper. It also encompasses many of the Hebrew traditions: hallah bread, traditional rabbi dress, huppahs, prayer, and wedding traditions.

I liked the illustrations. It uses the colors: light pinks, purple, blues, yellows, and orange with black. I personally often associate these colors with Polish tradition. It is nice to see an illustrator to use these same colors. The illustrations also depict Jewish traditional dress, which is not expressed within the story.

I like the use of Jewish tradition to tell the story. Most non-Jewish people are not as familiar with conservative or traditional aspects of the Jewish tradition. The book also gives a different approach, without being a servant to family. ( )