Isaac Bashevis Singer's inaugural foray into children's literature began with Zlateh the Goat, and Other Stories, a collection that emerged when Singer was already a seasoned author at sixty-two. The seed for this venture was planted by a juvenile fiction editor at Harper & Row who perceived the potential charm of Singer's tales, replete with demons and imps, believing they possessed an enchanting allure for young readers. This intuition proved accurate as critics almost unanimously praised the work. In an issue of Horn Book magazine, Helen B. Crawshaw lauded the collection as “a gift of seven stories for all children.” The acclaim culminated in the book being honored as a Newbery Honor Book in 1967, paving the way for Singer to publish sixteen more children's books before his passing in 1991.

Singer's approach to children's literature is reminiscent of the literary giants Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll, and Kenneth Grahame, manifesting a profound respect for the intellectual curiosity innate to children. He recognized that, despite their youth, children grapple with "eternal questions." His respect for their innate literary discernment led him to regard them as "the best readers of genuine literature." Singer fervently believed that the profound link between folklore and children's literature lends it an irreplaceable value, warning that without folklore, "literature must decline and wither away."

The stories in Zlateh the Goat, and Other Stories draw on a rich tapestry of cultural narratives. The wise men of Chelm, for example, echo the legendary wise men of Gotham in British lore, while the character of the schlemiel resonates with similar fools found across global folk tales. Singer articulated that a writer's deep roots within their cultural milieu enhance their universal appeal, asserting, "The more a writer is rooted in his environment, the more he is understood by all people." This connection between cultural specificity and universal understanding was pivotal in shaping a broader appreciation for multicultural folktales in children's literature. In the years following the publication of Singer's seminal work, there was a marked increase in the inclusion of diverse folktales in American children's books, reflecting a growing embrace of multiculturalism.