SHPETER: A LATECOMER IN EARLY HISTORY Meir Uri Gottesman. Illustrated by Yochanan Hones. New York, Judaica Press, c1981. Judaica Youth series. 43pp, paper, $6.95. ISBN 0-910818-36-3. SHPETER FROM THE DEPTHS Meir Uri Gottesman. Illustrated by Cara Sue Koenig. New York, Judaica Press, c1981. Judaica Youth series. Distributed by Negev Importing Co., 3509 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON, M6A 2C5. 44pp, paper, $6.95. ISBN 0-91081840-1. Grades 1-3. Reviewed by Annette Goldsmith. Volume 12 Number 3 1984 May Shpeter (Yiddish for "later") is an enfant terrible, who, because he doesn't do what he's told at the proper time, participates in the most exciting events of biblical Jewish history. Each book consists of several short stories, one-colour drawings, full-colour cover, and a glossary. This last would seem to indicate that these books are also aimed at non-Jews. In fact, they are read-alouds (as dictated by the large format) intended for a fairly limited audience: Jewish children, probably Orthodox, what one might expect from a rabbi with a weekly religious column, "Sparks from the Torah," in the Canadian Jewish News. A modern grandfather tells the Shpeter stories to his eager grandchildren. This device, repeated in each story, allows the author to use jarring anachronistic colloquialisms. Would the great storyteller I.E. Singer write "Wow!" or "snuck past" in a narrative presumably set in the time of Moses? The exclamation marks are sadly overworked in order to create a sense of excitement. Prose style aside, the major problem with this series is its heavy-handed moralism. This particular set of grandchildren may clamour for yet another of Shpeter's adventures, but the children I know would catch on and turn off pretty quickly. Shpeter is likeable enough, but Jewish children's literature will not suffer if Book Three fails to appear. Annette Goldsmith, Toronto, ON.