Reviews
All You Are
“The story’s friendships, family dynamics, and high school setting ring true as Da’Quan learns that trying to be his best self is the better play.” —Publishers Weekly View →
Apple Days: A Rosh Hashanah Story
“Every year at holiday time, Katy looks forward to making applesauce with her mother. When she shares her excitement with her religious school classmates, she also mentions the other exciting news: Later in the month, she will have a new baby cousin. A well-written,… View →
Goldie Takes a Stand: Golda Meir's First Crusade
“A solid choice for read-alouds, it could spark discussions about service learning, immigration, leadership, and inspiring female role models. Goldie’s strong voice comes through, and the conversational tone makes it accessible for readers.” — School Library… View →
Chasing the Storm: Tornadoes, Meteorology, and Weather Watching
“A fascinating composite of text, photos, charts, and maps … Descriptions model energetic composition featuring precise active verbs and straightforward observation, both useful to students learning to write nonfiction.” —starred, VOYA View →
Don't Spill the Milk!
“[A] beautifully illustrated West African story. . . . There is so much to be learned about rural Nigeria through the colorful folk art illustrations.”—starred, Library Media Connection View →
The Purim Superhero
“Look on any bookseller’s website and you’ll find a long list of books about children with same-sex parents. Some attempt to explain how children were conceived or adopted, and others reassure children that having a family that’s different is okay. As a gay… View →
“Children ages 1-4 can learn about the holiday of Purim in this adorable and sturdy board book. ‘When It’s Purim’ is filled with entertaining and bright illustrations. Kids will love flipping the pages as they watch cute forest animals make hamantaschen for all their… View →
Jack the Castaway
“Jack takes life seriously—sometimes too seriously. His parents don’t take life seriously at all. The result is Lisa Doan’s very fun and funny comedy of errors, Jack the Castaway. In this entertaining story, it’s the parents who learn from the kid!” View →
Drat That Cat!
http://amomssparetime.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-drat-that-cat-by-tony-ross.html Review: Drat That Cat, by Tony Ross 9781467720304 “Whenever anything bad happened, Suzy got the blame…usually because she had done… View →
Don't Sneeze at the Wedding
“This happy tale about a sweet young girl participating in her aunt’s wedding manages to deliver Jewish marriage customs in a subtle way. The tension over “the sneeze”—can flower girl Anna get through the ceremony without sneezing?—is the picture book’s foreground. Its background… View →
I'm Sorry, Grover: A Rosh Hashanah Tale
“Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group headquartered in Minneapolis, continues to release a variety of delightful holiday books for young readers. Among the offerings this year are a well-intentioned puppy, an apologetic Sesame Street character and two… View →
ABC Hanukkah Hunt
“This is a bright, cheery ABC book with a Hanukkah theme. The clever rhymes have rhythm and meter and touch on all aspects of the holiday. What distinguishes this book from a crowded field, though, is that the reading is an active experience rather than… View →
Sammy Spider's First Yom Kippur
“Filled with lively illustrations, children will be engrossed by this animated tale, while they learn the importance of reconciliation.” — Jewish Journal View →
I'm Sorry, Grover: A Rosh Hashanah Tale
“Youngsters 2-6 will enjoy this Shalom Sesame tale as they learn the importance of forgiveness and repentance, two prevalent themes of the Jewish New Year. Sesame Street lovers will appreciate this beautifully illustrated book, filled with their favorite characters.” —… View →
Cheesecake for Shavuot
“Cheesecake for Shavuot is a magnificent picture book with a thoughtful ratio between the text and the photographs, with pages that vary in background color and with photographs that vary in size, giving the book an interesting and original look. The endearing story… View →
The Whispering Lake Ghosts: A Mystery about Sound
“While readers might pick up this entry in the Summer Camp Science Mysteries series for the fun story and Torres’ appealing artwork, they’ll also learn quite a bit about sound and might be inspired to try some of the easy experiments at the back of the book.”… View →
Sparrow, Eagle, Penguin, and Seagull: What Is a Bird?
“The presentation is so much fun that readers are unaware of how much they are actually learning.”—Library Media Connection View →
William and the Lost Spirit
“The book is most remarkable in its layers—it is a magical adventure story, it is the story of a boy trying to find his father, and it is the story of a boy who learns difficult lessons and matures while on his journey. Many teens will be intrigued by this title because of the… View →
The Missing Cuckoo Clock: A Mystery about Gravity
“Learning about gravity gets a lift from the colorful art and engaging story, and students may even be inspired to try experiments in the back matter.” —Booklist View →
Speak Up, Tommy!
“Tommy’s classmates tease him about his quiet voice and his Israeli accent. He doesn’t like reading to the class, and stays by himself at recess. One day, Officer Sweeney and his police dog, Samson, pay a visit to Tommy’s class. Tommy instantly feels comfortable with Samson, who… View →
The Count's Hanukkah Countdown
“Sesame Street’s famous regulars and Hanukkah meet in a cute story that delivers the holiday combined with numbers up to eight. Grover hosts a latke party for Israeli muppet friends; the Count loves the idea; he includes himself because eight is the perfect Hanukkah number. The… View →
Grover and Big Bird's Passover Celebration
“Passover comes to vivid life in this fun and engaging tale from the Shalom Sesame series. As Grover and Big Bird make their way to Brosh and Avigail’s home for the Passover seder, a stalled bus gives them an opportunity to do mitzvot (good deeds), like helping a tired… View →
Cheesecake for Shavuot
“Cheesecake for Shavuot is the fourth in Allison Ofanansky’s nature/holiday series that includes Harvest of Light, What’s the Buzz, and Sukkot Treasure Hunt. The text is illustrated with beautiful color photographs. The class begins by planting… View →
It's a Mitzvah, Grover!
“With broom in hand, Grover joins his Rechov Sumsum friends Brosh, Avigail, and Mahboub in doing a mitzvah by cleaning up storm debris cluttering their playground. Working together, the amiable group picks up all the trash. Before applying a fresh coat of paint to the… View →