We read it because it's a classicle

Bel Kaufman has died. Her maternal grandfather was Sholem Aleichem. Her other grandfather was my great-great-uncle—my great-great-grandfather's older brother, Jacob Kaufman. She was still teaching at 100, writing at 101. I grew up knowing about her, but I never read any of her Yiddish stories, only the famous novel. It's a good novel.