Reviews
I Don't Want to Go to the Hospital!
Ross’s popular little princess with the yellow crown needs to go to the hospital to have a lump removed from her nose. This look at a hospital stay will comfort any child facing the same fate, yet it avoids being purposeful or didactic due to the humorous tone. The watercolor cartoon… View →
The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street
“Reader alert! This reviewer is very fond of cats; so, she was ready to like this book almost sight unseen. Luckily, this whimsical picture book is a delight. Ben Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv is full of cats of every shape, size, and color but Mr. Modiano, a grumpy fishmonger,… View →
Overexposed
Series Review: While fairly short and to the point, this series of low-reading-level, high-interest fiction titles are interesting to read and worth having in any teen collection. The topics covered are hard hitting, controversial, and may fill a need in most teen collections. Each… View →
No Baths at Camp
“Have a delicious romp through this amusing story filled with joy and Jewish content. Max does not wish to take his after-dinner bath. He counters his mother with information gleaned from his own experience that despite such grief at home, there are no baths at camp! He proceeds to View →
Stones for Grandpa
“Writing a picture book about grief is a difficult job; Londner accomplishes it by writing about something else: life. This is a story that works because it has more detail than necessary. When the narrator is remembering his grandfather, he’s very… View →
Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue
“Emanuel and his family are part of a group of Jews that have been forced to flee Portugal and have come to live in the whaling community of eighteenth-century New Bedford, Massachusetts. While his father runs a whaling supply shop on the wharf, nine-year-old Emanuel prefers to… View →
Maccabee Meals: Food and Fun for Hanukkah
“’Maccabee Meals’ features large, easy-to-read print, lots of lively illustrations and a selection of enticing, unique recipes such as Waffle Latkes with yogurt, or Chocolate Star Dreidels. Inter-spersed with the recipes and drawings are short stories and other Chanukah… View →
Jeremy's Dreidel
“Jeremy longingly eyed the poster on the wall of the Jewish community center. There was going to be a dreidel workshop on Monday and the only thing that kids were asked to do was to ‘bring your own ideas!’ Just maybe he had an idea to bring. Abby and David, who were… View →
Four Secrets
“‘There is a secret story and it is inside of another secret story and that one is inside of another secret story,’ writes Katie, and the four secrets, one about each of the teens, are satisfyingly juicy yet given depth by Willey’s understanding of the… View →
Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue
“With softly lit pastel artwork and a clear, exciting narrative, this picture book blends the history of Jewish persecution with a young boy’s role in a gripping rescue story. In eighteenth-century New Bedford, Massachusetts, nine-year-old Emanuel’s father owns a whaling supply… View →
Lights Out Shabbat
“Celebrate Shabbat the Southern way with this charming episodic adventure that underlines the true meaning of this weekly holiday—family love and devotion. When a young boy goes to visit his grandparents in Atlanta for a sleepover, a surprise snowstorm hits the area, causing a… View →
Barnyard Purim
“When Farmer Max goes off to see a Purim play, the resourceful animals he has left behind decide to put on their own Purim play. The biggest of them all, Horse, seems a natural choice for the role of the King. Goat’s beard makes him a shoo-in for Mordecai, and sweet, bashful Duck… View →
Sadie and the Big Mountain
“Sadie loves everything about school. But when Morah Sarah tells the class that they will mark Shavuot with a hike, like Moses did when he climbed Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, Sadie is very worried that she won’t be able to complete the trek. Each day that week the teacher… View →
Fly, Chick, Fly!
“Unlike the signature, comedic style of cartooning Ross uses in the Horrid Henry and Little Princess books, his textural pastel illustrations in this story about a baby barn owl are delicate and quiet, an excellent match for Willis’s lyrical text…. A conventional but… View →
Hannah's Way
" It is the Depression and Hannah’s father has lost his job. They are forced to move from Minneapolis to northern Minnesota where she is the only Jew in her class at school. Her parents are rigorous believers in following the rules and regulations governing the Sabbath. Hannah View →
Dinosaur Goes to Israel
“This is Dinosaur’s fourth adventure, having celebrated Jewish holidays and Shabbat in Dinosaur on Passover, Dinosaur on Hanukkah, and Dinosaur on Shabbat. This one takes him to Israel as a tourist. He digs in the sand on the beautiful beach in Tel… View →
“You’ve changed over your crockery, your food cupboards – what about your children’s bookshelves? And I am not talking about removing the remnants of squashed bagel, ‘posted’ between them several weeks ago in a moment of toddler experimentation. Well, yes – you need to View →
Hannah's Way
“The inside cover of this book reads ‘After Papa loses his job during the Depression, Hannah’s family moves to rural Minnesota, where she is the only Jewish child in her class. When her teacher tries to arrange carpools for a Saturday class picnic, Hannah is upset. Her… View →
The Great Sheep Shenanigans
“Big-nosed, pale gray Lou is endearing even if he is the antihero. Kids will be diverted by Bently’s skillful and risible rhymes and by Matsuoka’s droll depictions of Lou’s antics, and they’ll wolf this one down.” —The Bulletin of the Center… View →
Beep and Bah
“Beep, who resembles a truncated, malfunctioning pogo stick, and Bah, a somewhat querulous creature with a perpetually concerned expression on his face, try to track down the sock’s rightful owner, traveling from one animal to the next, with lots of slapstick and… View →
Summertime Blues: Book 2
http://rosepetals1984.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/review-summertime-blues/Summertime Blues is the second book in the popular “Lou” series by Julien Neel. This was a wonderful story that had Lou and her mother traveling to Memaw’s place to spend… View →
The Lonely Beast
“‘There is only one Beast in each country… and they don’t even know one another.’ A lonely Beast sets off to find someone like him. In a series of humorous episodes, he hitches a ride on a whale, beautifies a park, becomes a media darling, etc. This original story View →
What to Expect When You're Expecting Hatchlings: A Guide for Crocodilian Parents (and Curious Kids)
“The life cycle of members of the crocodilian family is cleverly and humorously described in this delightful book. The informative text, framed in a ‘Q and A’ format, encompasses many pertinent facts about alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials and flows easily… View →