Reviews
“This first look at China gives some history and geography as well as touching on several aspects of everyday life – family, food, health, school, transportation, recreation, and language (spoken and written).” —The Horn Book Guide View →
Only Nine Chairs: A Tall Tale for Passover
“Kids will love searching the pictures to discover how each family member is trying to solve the problem.” View →
Photographs by Tod Cohen. A preschool class celebrates Yom Ha’arzmaut, Israel’s birthday, by taking a make-believe trip. Clear photographs and simple text show the children pretending to visit a kibbutz, a Jerusalem market, the desert and Dead Sea, and Tel Aviv where they… View →
Sammy Spider's First Shavuot
Spider Sammy learns about the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. During the Shapiro family’s preparations, curious Sammy is almost burnt by cooking oil, splashed with strawberry juice, and covered with pollen while he learns about such customs as making blintzes. The brightly colored but… View →
A Style All Her Own
“they’ll surely enjoy Watts’s extravagant images of the style-obsessed mini-diva.” —The Horn Book Guide View →
Sarah Laughs
Jules retells and expands upon the story of Sarah, wife of Abraham. This quiet version, informed by biblical scholarship and legend, emphasizes Sarah’s feelings and faith. The illustrations’ curved lines and soothing colors match the book’s calm tone; this is an epic… View →
A gentile grandfather tells his Jewish granddaughter the story of Jethro (Moses’s Midianite father-in-law) and his Jewish grandson, Moses’s son Gershom. The parallels between modern-day family and the biblical one are effective, but the storytelling is confusing. An… View →
Detective Gordon: A Complicated Case
In their second case, Detective Gordon (an elderly toad) and Police Assistant Buffy (a young mouse) investigates who has been saying ‘nasty things’ to fellow forest creatures. As before, the friends’ application of the law is just. Humor and affection in the text and… View →
Dreidel Day
“Young kids will spin, bounce and tumble their way through Hanukkah along with a lively kitty in this delightful board book that glows like the colors of a box of holiday candles. Little ones can count out loud with each double-page spread that features one word and one number and… View →
Pinky Bloom and the Case of the Silent Shofar
“Would be enjoyed by any early reader that has interest in mystery books.”―Association of Jewish Libraries View →
My Name Is Hamburger
“A historically accurate portrayal of many families’ Jewish American experience in the mid-twentieth century, with themes of antisemitism and anti-immigration that are relevant to today…a welcome addition to the canon of children’s novels in verse about the… View →
The World Needs Beautiful Things
“Artistic passion and talent are rewarded in this delightful rendition of Exodus 31 when God tells Moses that He has chosen Bezalel, whom he endowed with a divine spirit in every kind of craft, to build the Mishkan. The picture book shows these talents. Bezalel starts as a young… View →
Danger at Sand Cave
“Ransom effectively conveys Arly’s frustration but refrains from turning his foolhardy act into a dramatic rescue and sticks with the historical conclusion of the event. Schofield’s watercolor illustrations on each page reflect the action and convey a strong sense of… View →
Yom Kippur: A Family Service
“Kar-Ben…has published three new and distinctive High Holiday Services geared to the special interests and attention span of young children and their families. Printed in four colors with beautiful Hebrew calligraphy, full transliterations and English texts, the books’ artful… View →
Pinky Bloom and the Case of the Missing Kiddush Cup
“Strange things are happening at Lucy Chang’s family’s restaurant. False smoke alarms, mysterious noises, bad fortune cookies, and mice are driving customers away. Lucy desperately needs her best friend, Pinky Bloom, to solve this case before her parents sell the business and… View →
Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah
“This most imaginative and beautifully illustrated book will fast become a holiday charmer.” View →
Matzah Ball: A Passover Story
“…a thoroughly modern book filled with Jewish tradition and richly illustrated baseball scenes that transport the reader right into the stadium.” View →
Santa's Secrets Revealed: All Your Questions Answered about Santa's Super Sleigh, His Flying Reindeer, and Other Wonders
“. . . may be enjoyed by children who are old enough to know Santa doesn’t exist but young enough, still, to sit on his lap at Macy’s. The essence of Solheim’s story is reassuring and sunny: Barry Gott’s determinedlybright paintings have a slick, slightly… View →
Living in Rural Communities
“These titles are well done and provide a good first look at different kinds of communities that children may encounter.” —Library Media Connection View →
“The author beautifully melds a tale of the fantastic and the mundane. The everyday concerns of the average fourteen-year-old merge seamlessly with the fantasy otherworld of angelic spirits. The underlying ethical dilemmas that the characters face enhance the story and enable the… View →
“This is a story that must be told…This story is a wonderful launching point for discussions about World War II, the Holocaust, or even the Columbia explosion tragedy.” View →
In this story, Jewish soldiers in the 23rd regiment of the Union Army requested to be allowed to celebrate Passover during the Civil War. Working together and improvising when traditional ingredients were not available, the men put together a traditional feast and spent the evening… View →