Reviews
It's Tot Shabbat!
“It’s Tot Shabbat is part of a Kar-Ben series showing children celebrating Jewish holidays around the year. Here we follow a group of appealing preschoolers attending a synagogue youth program on Shabbat morning while their parents pray in the adjacent sanctuary. The… View →
Documents of Freedom: A Look at the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Constitution
“This new government series is a real winner. It is easy enough for a second grader to understand the concepts, but complete enough for a fourth grader to learn a lot from the text.” —Library Media Connection View →
Sadie and the Big Mountain
“Sadie loves going to preschool at Temple Beth El where she sings songs, climbs on the tall gym outdoors, dresses up in costumes, and plays with her classmates. But on Monday, when her teacher tells the children about the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, Sadie gets nervous. She learns… View →
The Shabbat Princess
“The Shabbat Princess is a fun, colorful book perfect for the three-to-five year old crowd, girls, in particular. For many in this age group, there is nothing more special than dressing up for an occasion. In The Shabbat Princess, Rosie starts asking questions… View →
Hannah's Way
“Hannah’s Way is an American Jewish story that has not been told in picture books before. The time is the 1920s and the place is Northeastern Minnesota, a rural iron mining area called the Iron Range. After her father loses his job in Minneapolis, Hannah’s family moves to… View →
Sadie and the Big Mountain
“Sadie’s synagogue preschool is spending the week preparing for Shavuot, the culmination of which will be a mountain hike, similar to Moshe ascending Mount Sinai. Sadie does not like hiking, and as the class makes walking sticks, learns the Ten Commandments, and makes blintzes,… View →
Last Chance
“McClintock keeps her writing at a level simple and clear enough to attract both middle-school and reluctant high-school readers. She portrays both Robyn and Nick as flawed people, but both learn and grow, finally making both interesting and attractive characters…. Great for… View →
“Jodie’s father was an archaeologist of note and she dreamed of working the digs like he did when she grew up. When she found the afikomen she got a flashlight as a reward and was hoping that ‘her cousin Zach would help her uncover treasures hidden deep inside the… View →
Dinosaur Goes to Israel
“Dinosaur-loving Middle-Eastern tourists may be a small demographic, but this book targets them perfectly. There’s a theory that any book can be improved by putting a dinosaur in it. You may have a child in your family who believes that ‘Hansel and Gretel and… View →
Sadie and the Big Mountain
“A week-long unit on the holiday of Shavuot has one preschool class excitedly anticipating a planned reenactment of the hike Moses took up Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. Resourceful Sadie, of Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast (2011), enjoys attending her… View →
Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication
“How do elephants communicate over long distances? With infrasound—frequencies lower than the human ear can hear. Readers will learn more fascinating facts about these social animals in this colorful, information-packed volume, which also explores how elephants connect with each… View →
Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication
“How do elephants communicate over long distances? With infrasound—frequencies lower than the human ear can hear. Readers will learn more fascinating facts about these social animals in this colorful, information-packed volume, which also explores how elephants connect with each… View →
Iceberg, Right Ahead!: The Tragedy of the Titanic
“This handsome, clearly written book is a solid resource for the learning about the Titanic 100 years later.” —Booklist View →
Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles
“Jacob loves Hanukkah, but is frustrated with the way it’s celebrated at his house. His brother Nathan, a boy on the autism spectrum, obsesses about the holiday and ruins the night by blowing out the candles as if they were on a birthday cake. When a new friend, Steven,… View →
Power Up to Fight Pollution
“The books lend themselves to helping young children conceptualize ideas about the environment, as well as learn about the structure of an informational text. Teachers can share the books aloud with young children, or independent readers could read the books using the chapter by… View →
Talia and the Rude Vegetables
“Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, has released three delightful books for young readers who want to learn more about the upcoming High Holidays. Both Rosh Hashana and Sukkot are represented in the offerings, and they will brighten up and holiday… View →
What to Expect When You're Expecting Joeys: A Guide for Marsupial Parents (and Curious Kids)
“This companion to What to Expect When You’re Expecting Larvae (2011) is enormously appealing, an offbeat approach to learning about the natural world that targets exactly the stage young readers most want to know about.” —Kirkus Reviews View →
“Campers Carly and Sara become fast friends. Carly volunteers to bring Sara her mail, and she is very excited to learn that Sara’s last name is ‘Frankfurter.’ But when she says ‘like the hot dog,’ Sara is insulted and does not want to be friends. As… View →
“In this sequel to the Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride, Engineer Ari drives his train from Jerusalem to Jaffa, stopping along the way to collect fruit, branches, and a lulav and etrog from the friends he has made along his new… View →
In Trouble
“Author Levine has broached a delicate subject in the hope that readers will reflect upon what life was like for women before Roe v. Wade and where our nation could be headed if we refuse to learn from our history…. It’s also a stark reminder of ‘the more things… View →
Mallory in the Spotlight
“After landing the title role in Annie, Mallory can’t figure out why her best friend, Mary Ann, doesn’t seem happy for her. Could Mary Ann be jealous of Mallory’s newfound fame, not to mention her new (and kind of mean) actress friends? Mallory learns important… View →
A-B-A-B-A—a Book of Pattern Play
“Cleary’s zany cartoon cats, shown in Gable’s brightly colored illustrations, help define and categorize mathematical patterns. The book provides an entertaining starting point for kids learning about patterns; the rhyming text is snappy, but some of… View →
“Cleary and Goneau make learning about nutrition fun with silly rhymes and goofy illustrations. Food prep, portion size, vitamin values, and vegetable colors and textures are presented at just the right level for little ones, and they will delight in the antics of the brightly… View →