Reviews
José and the Pirate Captain Toledano
Inspired by the 2017 short film The Pirate Captain, Arnon Shorr and Joshua Edelglass bring an exciting, kid friendly version of this story of Jewish Pirates. José can read and write and is called “an educated freak.” He is a kid trying to figure out where he fits in and becomes even more View →
The Christmas Mitzvah
“This lovely book represents the epitome of interfaith, interracial, and intergenerational interaction. People of all social classes, ethnicities, sizes and shapes are represented in the charming, down-to-earth illustrations. This is the perfect story to demonstrate that our… View →
A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah
“Churnin portrays the organizational skill and human kindness of her subject with love and admiration. She expands the main text with comprehensive back matter that includes additional historical information, facts about the Purim holiday and a timeline. Nayberg’s stylized… View →
Miriam at the River
“This is a worthy contender for the Sydney Taylor Gold Medal for Picture Books.” — Kathy Bloomfield, VP of the Association of Jewish Libraries, Sydney Taylor Shmooze View →
You're the Cheese in My Blintz
“This is an excellent, joyful book for a Jewish family.” — Kathy Bloomfield, VP of the Association of Jewish Libraries, Sydney Taylor Shmooze View →
A Dreidel in Time: A New Spin on an Old Tale
“There are very few easy chapter books with Jewish content. This is one that will appeal to any reader, Jewish or not, despite a reference to the Maccabees before their role is fully explained.” — Association of Jewish Libraries View →
Room for One More
In 1942, twelve-year-old Rosetta and her Jewish Montreal-based family agree to take in Isaac, a Jewish teen refugee from Nazi Germany who’s private about what he’s endured. While Isaac and the family adjust to each other, Rosetta’s understanding of her Jewish identity and of the way her… View →
Whale of a Tale
Scarlett and Sam, the time-travelling twins from Escape from Egypt (Kar-Ben, 2015) and Search for the Shamir (Kar-Ben, 2018) have returned to experience first-hand the story of Jonah. When they offer to take their Iranian grandmother’s priceless antique carpet to the carpet cleaner, they View →
In the Jerusalem Forest
Inspired by “The Pond,” a Hayim Nahman Bialik poem, this lovely picture book tells of a mother and daughter’s walk in a forest near Jerusalem. As they walk past a small pond, the girl observes their reflections in the pond, looking the same, but upside down. As the wind picks up, the… View →
An Unlikely Ballerina
“This long-overdue picture book biography of Alicia Markova, née Lily Marks (1910–2004), is a pleasure to behold. In clear and concise prose, the author tells the story of a talented Jewish girl born in London, England who loved to dance, overcame adversity, and eventually became a View →
Dreidel Day
“Join a playful, cuddly kitty to spin, bounce, tumble, hop, and more, from one to eight on Hanukkah. Each full color spread offers a numeral, an action, a cute pose for the kitty to match the action named, and the appropriate number of dreidels to match each numeral. Each double… View →
Light the Menorah!: A Hanukkah Handbook
“True to its subtitle, this is a resource for families observing the Festival of Lights at home. The candle blessings – in Hebrew, transliteration, and English – are followed by free verse poems and brief reflections to read on each of the eight nights of the holiday. The poems… View →
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 →
All Eyes on Alexandra
“The Crane family wonders what to do with Alexandra Crane. She doesn’t follow in formation. She doesn’t march correctly. Instead, she likes to explore and flirt with danger. Saba Crane goes along with her and begins to understand Alexandra’s strengths. He sees that she correctly… View →
Pickled Watermelon
“Molly is looking forward to spending the summer at camp with her friends when her parents tell her about a change in plans. She will be visiting her father’s family in Israel instead, spending an entire month staying with them and getting to know them. Her paternal grandparents… View →
A Heart Just Like My Mother's
“Anna’s mother is renowned for her kindness, creativity, and outgoing humor, which makes Anna feel they have nothing in common and that she will never live up to her mother’s exceptional qualities. After noticing a hungry man asking for money outside their frequently visited deli,… View →
The Family with Two Front Doors
“How can a family have two front doors? Easy – if they live in 1920s Lublin, Poland, have nine children, and need two apartments – one to live in, the other in which the rabbi/father studies and conducts business. Based on Ciddor’s grandmother Nomi’s reminiscences, this View →
Bubbe's Got the Beat
“A loving rhyming adventure features Bubbe, who has gray hair and wears bright red sneakers. She makes chicken soup and challah, but she is ‘totally cool.’ Using a rap-type rhythm and rhyme, Press shows the love between a grandparent and grandchild as they work together 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 →
Sadie's Snowy Tu B'Shevat
“Sadie (Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast, Sadie and the Big Mountain, Sadie and Ori and the Blue Blanket, and more) returns in her seventh book to educate us about the holiday of Tu B’Shevat. Sadie wants to plant a tree to celebrate Tu B’Shevat. She gets a shovel, finds the perfect spot in View →
The Passover Parrot, 2nd Edition
“In celebration of the 35th anniversary of its initial publication, Kar Ben has issued a new edition of The Passover Parrot with full color illustrations. Leba is finally old enough to ask the four questions in Hebrew at her family seder. Her neighbor is moving out of town and… View →
Paulie's Passover Predicament
“Not since Bullwinkle has there been as charming a moose as Paulie. Paulie is a moos-ician who cuts his musical practice short in order to prepare a seder for his friends that evening. He is thoughtfulness personified, although a tad misguided, when he uses some unusual items on… View →
