Reviews
Underneath It All: A History of Women's Underwear
“[A]n engaging read for anyone with an overflowing underwear drawer and a useful resource for teens . . .”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
The Magic of Melwick Orchard
“Rebecca Caprara has beautifully walked the line between magic and real life in The Magic of Melwick Orchard. For families with children who have illnesses, they will see the truth of what it is like when one member of the family is sick. This story will hold your heart,… View →
“®eaders who revel in potty humor and/or those that appreciate an earned happy ending will find much to love here.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 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 →
Can You Hear a Coo, Coo?
“This board book tells the story of Noah’s Ark through simple and amusing illustrations accompanied by a text full of animal sounds and movement words. Reading the book is a lively, interactive learning experience. As children look at the color images of the animals, they can… View →
Tu B'Shevat Is Coming!
“How better to introduce young children to Tu B’Shevat, the birthday of the trees, than through colorful pictures that show what the holiday is all about? In this colorful board book, a child can see a young family planting trees, feeding birds, and filling plates with… View →
Bubbe's Got the Beat
“A close-knit Jewish family’s preparations for Shabbat are set to a hip-hop beat in this attractive board book. Each lively four-line verse is sung by a smiling boy sporting a backwards baseball cap. His gray-haired Bubbe, wearing a sunny yellow apron, dances along waving a… View →
“This is an extraordinary book, one that can make the needed connection for young children to see human beings as more than their circumstances.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews View →
Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion
“Barton’s lively text is matched by Ngai’s engrossing artwork, which employs dazzle techniques throughout her inventive spreads.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Seeing into Tomorrow: Haiku by Richard Wright
“A must for all children’s collections. These verses are an introduction to haiku as well as an entry point into Wright’s work; they can be read aloud to younger children or enjoyed independently by older readers.”—starred, School Library Journal View →
The Missing Letters: A Dreidel Story
“Children will be delighted to find out that dreidels come alive at night at the dreidel factory and talk to one another. Actually, they like to argue about the fairness of the dreidel game rules. The nuns are jealous of the gimels because … who wants to get a nun, anyway? But the… View →
Honk! Splat! Vroom!
“With the minimal text, children can have fun providing their own play-by-play accounts for this action-packed race.”—Booklist View →
The Notations of Cooper Cameron
“O’Reilly’s rhythmic prose is evocative in its cadence and repetition, giving Cooper’s struggle against his compulsions a poignant immediacy . . .”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Auma's Long Run
“Odhiambo’s heartbreaking tale of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s weaves the many threads of the disease’s course into one accessible cloth.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
Way Too Many Latkes: A Hanukkah in Chelm
“Introduce young readers to Chelm, the traditional village of fools, with Way Too Many Latkes, a Hanukkah in Chelm by Linda Glaser (appetisingly illustrated by Aleksandar Zolotic, KarBen, £6.50). Faigel is making latkes but she cannot remember the recipe. Some careless advice from… View →
Outrageous Animal Adaptations: From Big-Eared Bats to Frill-Necked Lizards
“Both budding zoologists and children with even just a mild interest in the natural world will slurp this down.”—Kirkus Reviews View →
“The text is streamlined but warm and sometimes humorous. . . . Kids with unmet desires of their own will relate to this gentle tale that gives dreams full respect in their own right.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
The Great Penguin Rescue: Saving the African Penguins
“Markle’s unanthropomorphized opening scene is a powerful entree into the plight of African penguins. . . . Exceptionally well-organized text leads readers through the reasons for endangerment . . .”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
I Want Snow!
“Children will have a laugh at the expense of Ross’s moody, prone-to-tantrums toddler princess. A suitable seasonal story selection perfect for storytime and one-on-one sharing.”—School Library Journal View →
Marco Polo: Dangers and Visions
“In this lush graphic novel import, Tabilio makes a virtue of uncertainty. . . . [G]raphic novel readers accustomed to nonlinear, image-dependent storytelling will be right at home puzzling out the boundaries between imagination and reality and reveling in Tabilio’s intricate View →
The Best Sukkot Pumpkin Ever
“Micah and his family arrive at Farmer Jared’s pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkin for their family’s sukkah (a temporary shelter erected for the week-long Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot). Jared explains that many of the pumpkins he grows will be donated View →
Paper Butterflies
“June’s story is all the more heartbreaking because her visceral account, though fiction, is undoubtedly a reality for children suffering from abuse behind closed doors. . . . [T]his novel, a 2017 Carnegie Medal nominee in Great Britain, manages to end on a hopeful… View →
The Cholent Brigade
“Mr. Monty Nudelman is a mensch (good person). On Friday morning following a big storm, he happily shovels snow from the sidewalks, alleys and front porches of his neighbors so they can prepare for Shabbat. When he does not show up for Shabbat services on Saturday morning, View →
Rosie Saves the World
“Caring for the world and people in need around the globe is an essential Judaic value, and so is Areyvut (Jews being responsible for one another). Rosie learns in Hebrew class about Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world by doing good deeds, and sets off to do just… View →