Check out Kveller’s exclusive interview with Ione Skye!
Actress Ione Skye—daughter of Scottish singer Donovan and American model Enid Carl, and best known as John Cusack’s brainy and beautiful love interest in Say Anything, has just added an unexpected item to her resume: Jewish children’s author.
As she writes in the author’s note to her new book, My Yiddish Vacation, she grew up wild and free in Hollywood, with her brother and her Jewish hippie mom, and she cherished her trips to visit her Yiddish-inflected grandparents.
Illustrated by Scott Menchin, My Yiddish Vacation follows the sweet, mild adventures of seven-year-old Ruthie and her big brother Sammy, as they board a plane by themselves and fly to Florida to visit their grandparents for the weekend. The night before, Ruthie is on shpilkes, impatient and excited for her upcoming trip.
Once in Florida, they shvitz, they play like meshuggeners in the swimming pool, and Ruthie beats the alter kockers at shuffleboard. Later, she puts on a dress (but not a shmatte like her bubbe picks for her) and line dances to Mack the Knife, before falling into a deep shluf.
Watch your gelt when you read it: you might be tempted to book a Yiddish vacation in Miami yourself.
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Get nostalgic with this musical Ione Skye montage from Say Anything:
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