Reviews
The Edelweiss Pirates
“Set in Germany in 1938, this story’s young narrator, Kurt, longs to be an anti-Nazi activist like his older brother, who is a member of the resistance group, the Edelweiss Pirates. Their risky activities include distributing anti-Hitler leaflets, painting over Nazi symbols, and… View →
The Edelweiss Pirates
“The Edelweiss Pirates is indeed an interesting look at a group of resisters that most people have never really heard of, and although they didn’t start out as saboteurs, by 1938, they were beginning to increase their subversive acts against the Nazis. I liked… View →
The Edelweiss Pirates
“Kurt’s older brother, Albert, is a member of the Edelweiss Pirates, a group of young people who are dedicated to resisting Hitler’s edicts. Hitler has outlawed jazz music, so the Edelweiss Pirates play it every chance they get. Kurt, who plays the trumpet, asks if he can join the… View →
The World Needs Beautiful Things
“Bezalel is a slave in Egypt. Although his life is harsh, he sees beauty everywhere. To him, a feather, a smooth stone, and a piece of colored string are treasures to be cherished and stored in his Beautiful Things Box. When Pharaoh suddenly allows the Israelites to go free, and… View →
All Eyes on Alexandra
“Readers learn some nature facts as they follow intrepid Alexandra Crane and her feathered companions on a migratory trip to Israel. The art is captivating: representational, tempera-and-colored-pencil images that include a thin stripe of red ink to outline each graceful crane.… View →
Search for the Shamir
“Eric Kimmel has given us another educational monster/demon book. Think Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Holiday House, 1994) in ancient Israel. This second book in the Scarlet and Sam series sends the time traveling twins to Jerusalem during the time of King Solomon. They travel… View →
Navajo Code Talkers
‘Navajo Code Talkers,’ from the series Heroes of World War II, tells the story of the successful communications of the Navajo code talkers, in the US marines, during World War II from 1942 through 1945, in the Pacific theater. This exciting true story of a Marine core of… View →
A Queen in Jerusalem
“Malka is disappointed that her mother doesn’t have time to make her a Purim costume, but her mother thinks she’s now old enough to make her own. Malka sadly walks through the streets of Jerusalem. She can sense the city’s excitement for the holiday, but struggles to feel… View →
The Family with Two Front Doors
“Ciddor’s lively novel transports readers to the Jewish quarter of the town of 1920s Lublin, Poland, where the Rabinovitch family of 11 (including a rabbi father, a mother, and their nine children) carries out its Orthodox traditions in both rambunctious and respectful style.… View →
Search for the Shamir
“Dangers, duplicity, and acts of courage ensue, and they triumph. While the ancient characters do not know what the future holds (with one odd exception), Scarlett and Sam have learned in Hebrew school of the people and events of the Torah, as well as the midrashim, the stories and View →
Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva
“Rabbi Akiva, the second century Jewish sage, is considered to be one of the greatest rabbinic scholars and was the inspiration for many legends. Jules, who previously focused on biblical heroes in Abraham’s Search for God, Benjamin and the Silver Goblet, Miriam in the Dessert, and View →
The Six-Day Hero
“The opening scene in The Six-Day Hero takes place at a ceremony in celebration of Israel’s nineteenth birthday. Twelve-year-old Motti’s brother Gideon is on the dais being honored as an Independence Day baby. Motti can’t stand the boring, hot ceremony and wriggles out to… View →
Way Too Many Latkes: A Hanukkah in Chelm
“Glaser (author of Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls, BCCB 3/14) returns for a second visit to Chelm, the village of fools from Jewish folklore; now it’s the first night of Hanukkah and Faigel can’t remember her latke recipe. She knows she uses… View →
A Different Kind of Passover
“Any child who has ever celebrated a holiday when someone special couldn’t attend will relate to A Different Kind of Passover. But even those who haven’t will appreciate the sentiments expressed and the lovely twist author Linda Leopold-Strauss has added in this… View →
Gabriel's Horn
“Times are tough, economically, for Gabriel and his family this Rosh Hashanah―their antique store and other neighborhood businesses are on the verge of shutting down. As a round challah is baking in the oven, a U.S. Army soldier (astute readers will note his name tag reads… View →
Netta and Her Plant
“A little girl’s understanding of the annual Jewish New Year for trees, known as the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, begins with a seedling she continues to care for through her primary years, watching it grow into a fine small tree. This gentle narrative incorporates the… View →
What a Way to Start a New Year!: A Rosh Hashanah Story
“Starting the Jewish New Year in a new city without friends or extended relatives is tough for Harry and his family, until the generous welcome by their new community known as the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim makes a significant difference. Not yet unpacked… View →
Miracle Mud: Lena Blackburne and the Secret Mud That Changed Baseball
“The colorful, exaggerated paintings artfully (and comically) capture the full allure of ballpark ambiance by including plenty of behind-the-scenes activity. The information provided in the minimal text is bolstered by a solid two-page author’s note.” —Booklist View →
Izzy the Whiz and Passover McClean
“Izzy’s brand new invention, the Super-McDuper Passover McClean, can suck up all of the books, rugs, curtains, lamps, tables, chairs, toys, and dishes and spit them back out clean, washed and dried without a trace of hametz. More amazing still, Passover McClean puts everything back View →
Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue
“Emanuel, inspired by the whalers who frequent his father’s shop in New Bedford Massachusetts, dreams of a life at sea. According to his father, ‘the life of a whaler is lonely and dangerous’ and he encourages Emanuel to become a merchant when he grows up. Emanuel views View →
The Apple Tree's Discovery
“Well-known author and storyteller Peninnah Schram reminds us in her afterword to this charming fable: ‘To find the star in the apple, you must turn it on its side and cut it in half. We must look hard to find the beautiful star in each of us, and sometimes it just takes a… View →
Speak Up, Tommy!
“Tommy is shy in his new American school, where kids tease him about his Israeli accent. He gains confidence when a police officer and Israeli-trained police dog visit his class. By pronouncing the Hebrew commands, Tommy helps the officer and gains his classmates’ respect. The… View →
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China
“Author and illustrator together give us an unvarnished and intimate account of a real childhood: plain-speaking, rough-hewn, and very much down-to-earth. While the time and place the book depicts are very different from our own, there’s not a hint of sentimentality or… View →