Reviews
Kai and the Golem
“Encourages discussions about emotions, resilience, and how imagination can help reframe difficult experiences.” —Association of Jewish Libraries View →
Baila the Klopper
“Baila creatively helps solve the issues while the village works together to create a warm and cooperative community. Likewise, the expressive illustrations depict a small town with people who care deeply about one another. . .The book is appropriate for Jewish libraries as well as View →
Charley and Seymour's Hanukkah Miracle
“The illustrations are simplistic and colorful and will appeal to young children. This book is an appropriate fun additional purchase for Jewish, school, and public libraries which have substantial collections of Hanukkah stories.”—Association of Jewish Libraries View →
Twist, Tumble, Triumph: The Story of Champion Gymnast Ágnes Keleti
Sorrow and celebration are parallel threads in this uplifting biography. It introduces one of the darkest chapters in Jewish history in a child-appropriate way. Jewish readers may take pride in a champion who shares their heritage, but this story of perseverance and hope is inspirational View →
The Mitzvah Fairy
“This book would be lovely for a Jewish preschool or kindergarten class or family story time leading easily into opportunities to incorporate mitzvot into daily life.”—Association of Jewish Libraries View →
Zayde Babysits before Passover
“Full of traditional things that are done the day before Passover, Zayde Babysits Before Passover is a light and fun picture book for picture book lovers.”—Association of Jewish Libraries View →
Dino-Hanukkah
“The colorful, lively dinosaurs stomping to the festivities, with the pterodactyl swooping in to hear Grandma Dinosaur tell the story of the Maccabees, will hold young readers’ attention. Just enough Hanukkah customs and plenty of dinosaurs make this a worthy… View →
Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport
“Both heartbreaking and hopeful.”—Association of Jewish Libraries View →
Sammy Spider's First ABC
“A lovely introduction to the alphabet and Jewish life.” —Association of Jewish Libraries View →
The Topsy-Turvy Bus
“This picture book shows how to repair the world.” —Association of Jewish Libraries View →
José and the Pirate Captain Toledano
“The graphic novel format highlights all the exciting swashbuckling adventures.” —Association of Jewish Libraries View →
Sydney A. Frankel's Summer Mix-Up
“The challenges of fitting in and being oneself are examined with sensitivity and humor in this charming middle-grade novel.” —Association of Jewish Libraries View →
The Button Box
“The Button Box is engaging historical fiction with important messages for young people. The reader is encouraged to be an upstander in the face of hatred and bigotry.” —Association of Jewish Libraries 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 →