Reviews
Willy the Scrub
“Willy’s vulnerability and his desire for peer acceptance make his story appealing. Writing with humor, McEwan weaves these themes into the narrative in a natural way and endows several supporting characters with refreshingly non-stereotypical traits and interests. Short… View →
The Best Birthday Parties Ever!: A Kid's Do-It-Yourself Guide
“Ross, a veteran author of theme and holiday craft books, has come to the rescue of children and parents short on money but long on creativity. This do-it-yourself guide includes ideas and instructions for invitations, hats, decorations, cakes, favors, and games. Themes include… View →
Crafts to Make in the Spring
“Twenty-nine crafts inspired by spring and holidays are shown on double-page spreads and illustrated with full-color drawings. The directions are framed by border paintings that relate to the projects. The crafts include pussy willows made from cotton swabs, a rather novel… View →
Let's Celebrate Valentine's Day
“Each double-page spread in this introductory volume opens with a question, such as ‘Why Is Cupid a Valentine Symbol?’ to explain the origins and traditions of the holiday. . . The riddles, trivia, instructions on how to make a pop-up Valentine’s Day card, a… View →
Emergency!
“An engaging subject and bold, colorful illustrations guarantee this picture book an enthusiastic audience. When at last all of the emergency calls are over and ‘the rescue vehicles are all tucked away,’ odds are good they’ll be called out again by eager… View →
A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah
“A worthwhile addition for any library looking to expand picture book content on powerful women.” View →
Avoiding Drugs
“This serviceable title introduces the difference between ‘medicinal’ and ‘non-medicinal’ drugs. . . a useful choice.” —School Library Journal View →
Stop and Go, Yes and No: What Is an Antonym?
“The bouncy lettering style enhances the whimsical rhymes and makes for yet another strong addition to collections of books about the English language.” —School Library Journal View →
Dan and Dan
“Crisp full-color photos on white backgrounds illustrate these phonetics-based easy readers. In Dan and Dan, a white boy lovingly describes his relationship with his grandfather and namesake.” —School Library Journal View →
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China
Recommended Reading Living History Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu; illus. by Andres Vera Martinez (Graphic Universe, 2013) Gr 4-7-Each short chapter tells of a different aspect of Liu’s childhood in 1970s China: her parents’ grief at the View →
Abraham's Search for God
“This simply told tale is an excellent introduction to the concept of monotheism, and would be a great discussion starter for talking about God.” View →
“The language is modern and approachable…Children will be intrigued by this welcome addition to religious collections." View →
Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
“Cheerful illustrations depict the sights and scenes of Israel with nostalgia and charm…this delightful title [will] also appeal to train-loving children.” View →
Harvest of Light
In this wonderfully different Hanukkah book, an Israeli family harvests olives to be processed into the oil. The daughter provides a simple narrative, which is clearly written and accompanied by full-color photographs de-picting each step in the process from gathering and sorting the… View →
Jodie's Hanukkah Dig
An Israeli girl wants to become an archaeologist like her father and has the opportunity to assist at a dig where Judah Maccabee fought against the Syrians. Braving darkness, spiders, and her own fear, Jodie volunteers to be lowered into a small underground cave where she discovers a… View →
Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
2—In 1892, Ari is selected to engineer the first train between Jaffa and Jerusalem. Filled with pride, he boasts to his friends and neglects to say goodbye to them before he sets off. As the train stops to collect the neces-sary items to celebrate the Jewish New Year—apples, honey, round View →
Sammy Spider's First Shavuot
In this addition to the series, Sammy the spider learns about Shavuot, which “celebrates the time when God gave the Torah to Moses.” He watches as the Shapiro family makes blintzes and reads parts of a small Torah scroll. The brightly colored paper-collage illustrations have… View →
The Boy from Seville
Manuel, 11, and his family are conversos—Jews who have nominally converted to Christianity—in 17th-century Spain. They have fled harsh discrimination in Portugal, but their lives are still shrouded in fear and suspi-cion. When Manuel’s teacher intercedes, the boy is allowed to join View →
Where Do People Go When They Die?
“Haas’s muted watercolor illustrations help set the tone for this meaningful much-needed book on a universal topic." View →
It's Purim Time!
“…offers an attractive, appealing introduction to a holiday that children love to celebrate.” View →
Matzah Ball: A Passover Story
“Bold, detailed watercolors perfectly complement the text’s realistic language and emotions…this will be a hit with sports lovers and anyone seeking an added dimension to a holiday story.” View →
No Rules for Michael
“The colorful illustrations are warm and friendly.” View →
Quirky, Jerky, Extra Perky: More about Adjectives
“Chock-full of imagination-tickling adjectives, this sprightly volume will have readers itching to spice up their writing, ‘make phrases sing/and keep our language interesting!’” —Curriculum Connections View →
“An excellent teaching tool, attractively updated to appeal to today’s more design-conscious kids, this is a must-have for early childhood teachers…and a solid choice for Jewish families.” View →