Children's Books Books - Page 12

Bubbe Isabella And The Sukkot Cake

Kelly Terwilliger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Sukkot Book for Toddlers 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is a fun Sukkot story involving different animal visitors to Bubbe Isabella's sukkah. Our toddler enjoys it very much. An added benefit is that it stresses eating non-junk food since the animals all decline a piece of cake in favor of various fruits, etc.

All-star Season (Kar-Ben for Older Readers)

Tovah Yavin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A definite page-turner! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I loved this book! As a middle school librarian, I am thrilled to have an exceptionally well-written, heart-warming baseball story that has appealed to both boys and girls at my school. There's lots of baseball certainly, and sibling issues are dealt with as well since the main character plays on the same team as his brother. This was a wonderful realistic story - I read it in one sitting!

All*Star Season 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A well-written novel for pre-teens, this is the story of two brothers whose first love is baseball, and their attempts to excel in the game. In addition, it is a coming-of-age saga of brothers reconciling themselves to working together as a team, while in competition with each other. Reuven is in ninth grade. He is organized, competent, an excellent student, and very shy. He is focused on becoming an even better pitcher than he already is. He is willing to go against his father's advice not to practice new strategies in the journey to improve his game. Younger brother Avi is in eighth grade, and is an outstanding catcher who has a more happy-go-lucky personality than his brother. For example, he often leaves his schoolwork until the last moment. Both characters are well developed and believable. Each brother has many strengths, but the differences between them, in addition to the zeal they bring to playing baseball, make for an intense sibling experience. There is a tremendous amount of jealousy between the two as they each excel in different areas. Reuven and Avi are part of a close and loving family. Both parents assist and guide the boys through their challenges and their lives. Their father, in addition, acts as their regular baseball coach on Sunday mornings. The family is Orthodox, and the brothers attend a day school for boys. Because of their religious commitments they are forced to miss three games held on the Sabbath during the season. This is an issue of great concern to each boy, as each carries the dream of being picked to be in the All-Stars game at season's end. The family's Orthodoxy is an interesting subplot that does not interfere with the non-Orthodox reader's enjoyment of the sports theme, but another sub-plot involving a relationship Reuven has with a baseball-loving young woman is not very realistic. This book, while in manuscript form, was the winner of the Association of Jewish Libraries' Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award for best unpublished children's book of Judaic interest. Ages 9 and up.

Sammy Spider's First Haggadah (Passover)

Sylvia A. Rouss

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Sammy Spider's First Haggadah 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

In this third Passover title added to Sammy Spider's First Passover and Sammy Spider's Passover Fun Book from the popular Sammy Spider series, Rouss tells the story of Passover and explains the holiday in terms that young children can understand. She includes little songs with melodies suggested by Sammy, such as singing "Make Room for Matzah" to the tune of "On Top of Old Smokey" and "Fill the Seder Plate" to the tune of "London Bridge" There is a checklist of what belongs on the seder table, illustrated with the objects named in the list. Then she has Sammy teach the answers to the four questions, in English, and the prayers over the candles, wine, matzah, bitter herbs and charoset, in English and Hebrew, with the transliteration for each. She provides parts for a reader and chorus to tell the story of Moses and Passover at the Seder. The book ends with the search for the Afikomen; an original little song called "Crunch Goes the Matzah" (sung to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel,") a blessing for after the meal, a brief explanation of Elijah's Cup with an accompanying song, and a transliterated Dayenu. No music notation is included for any of the songs. Kahn's vividly colored cut-paper illustrations add a lively touch to the informative, young child-appropriate text. The author explains the ten plagues as "ten bad things made by God to change Pharaoh's mind about letting the Jewish people leave." She includes text and illustrations for four of the plagues: frogs, lice, wheat-eating locusts, and darkness, but does not explain the last plague - killing the first-born- in deference to book's young audience. This would be excellent to use at a family Seder with young children, and at model Seders for the youngest classes at school. For ages 3 - 6.

Kibitzers and Fools

Simms Taback

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Schlemiels and Schmendricks for your enjoyment and gezundt 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

With kinetic Jewish drawings and a book design that only Taback can achieve, the author retells 13 stories that were told to him by his zayda. The inside front and back covers are filled with famous Yiddish axioms in primary colors (well, most are Yiddishisms, others might be from Poor Richard's Alamanac). Idioms include From the lowly potato you get the choicest latke; Words are like arrows - both deliver with speedy aim; Words should be weighed and not counted; "Keep you eye on the bagel, and not the hole; and It is easier to be a critic than an author. Each of the 13 stories is followed by axiom. Each story is about 2 pages, maybe 4, but who's counting? One story is about a fish monger, and his neighbors (they all have to put in their two cents cuz they are kibitzers.) Another is about a shnayder, a tailor. Is he a genius, or just bad? One story is about a sick chicken (look closely at the thermometer). Some stories seem like they are from Chelm, one might be from Mel Brooks (hehe); but all have a twist. Of course, there is a well drawn colorful story about the difference between a shlemiel and a shliMazel. In a story about two brothers, God has an important insight into the human condition. In one story we find out when a Labish Noodleman can be a Yankel. My faves: If I Were a Rockefeller; and The Caretaker. The book closes with a glossary of over 45 words, including cheder; meshugge; megilla; klug; Gottenyu; and even gonif.

Editorial Review:

A saying: It pays to have a little chutzpah (nerve). With Old World charm, universal humor, and just a bit of chutzpah, Simms Taback offers this lively spin on thirteen playful tales—as only he could. Paired with his trademark vibrant and hilarious artwork, these stories illustrate ultimate universal truths and important life lessons, from the difference between a shlemiel and a shlimazel to the idea that just because you can talk doesn’t mean you make sense.Taback delivers the perfect combination of wisdom and humor—just the way your zayda (grandpa) would.

The Fighter

Jean Jacques Greif

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fighting is a way of life for Moshe Wisniak. As a boy from a very poor neighborhood in Warsaw, he can’t run away when Polish kids attack the Jews, because his legs are weak. So he learns to use his fists, his head and other weapons to defend himself and his brothers.
When the family moves to Paris in 1929, everyone finds work and life improves slowly. Moshe, now Maurice, is a leather worker and a young husband. At a Jewish sports club, he takes up boxing, and becomes an amateur flyweight. But the war comes to Paris, and by 1942, the French police round up foreign Jews and the Germans deport them by the hundreds every day. They send Maurice to the death camp at Auschwitz.
In the camp, SS officers sense Maurice’s strength. They command him to box against a dying prisoner. Now Maurice is faced with an impossible moral dilemma: kill the prisoner or be killed by the SS for refusing to obey them. Or will he find a way out?
Translated from French by award-winning author Jean-Jacques Greif, The Fighter isn’t simply another book about the Holocaust. It is a book about a hero who discovers the death-defying power of his own humanity.

The Cure

Sonia Levitin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"You are a criminal, Gemm 16884--aggressive, hostile, nonconforming. We have noted tendencies toward diversity in your gait, in your dreams, and most especially in your repeated persistence in"--the Elder cleared his throat--"making music."

Branded a deviant--and therefore a threat--to the utopian society of Conformity, Harmony, and Tranquility that exists in the year 2407, Gemm 16884 is given the choice between being recycled or undergoing a painful and mysterious cure. Gemm chooses the cure, and suddenly finds himself living the life of Johannes, a 16-year-old Jewish musician in starsbourg, Germany, in 1348, at the onset of the Black Death. As the pestilence spreads, the townspeople begin the accuse the Jews of causing the disease. Surrounded by hatred and horror, Johannes struggles to hold on to his family and faith as well as his belief in the basic goodness of human beings. But can he return to the future and become Gemm again after having known such emotions as pain. . .and love?

The Runaway Latkes

Leslie Kimmelman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great kids book for Hannukah 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This is a very cute book that's a take off on the Gingerbread Man story. Kids will love it! It also includes a recipie for latkes.

Editorial Review:

As Rebecca Bloom prepares for a Hanukkah party at the synagogue, three latkes jump right out of her frying pan. They head straight for the door, singing, "Big and round, crisp and brown, off we roll to see the town! And YOU can't catch us!" And so begins the chase. The sassy latkes roll out of the synagogue and through the town with Rebecca and a growing crowd in hot pursuit. Their travels come to an end at Applesauce River, where, by a modern-day Hanukkah miracle, the water actually turns into applesauce--the perfect bath for three crispy latkes!

The White Ram: A Story of Abraham And Isaac

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( G ) -> Gerstein, Mordicai

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A 2007 Sydney Taylor Honor Award Winners for Younger Readers 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

In this midrash from the story of the binding of Isaac, God sends a ram to take Isaac's place on the alter. Even though "the evil one," depicted as a horned devil, tries to prevent the ram from reaching Abraham, God intervenes, stopping Abraham from sacrificing his son. The ram is slaughtered instead and his soul flies up to heaven and becomes part of the Temple alter, the foundation of Jerusalem, the harp of Kind David, and the cape of the prophet Elijah. The sophisticated language of Gerstein's retelling, the complex themes, and the scary illustrations limit the audience to older readers already familiar with the story of the Akeda. But, the book is a wonderful way to spark a discussion of midrashim, the role of animals in our world, and the Jewish values of obedience to God and saving human life (pikuach nefesh). As with other biblically based books by Mordicai Gerstein (The Shadow of a Flying Bird, Jonah and the Two Great Fish, Queen Esther, the Morning Star, and Noah and the Great Flood), the text reads fluidly aloud and the fanciful illustrations include many intricate and hidden details such as the hands and face of God in the clouds.

Editorial Review:

Made on the sixth day of Creation, a white ram waits patiently in the Garden of Eden. The other animals leave one by one, but the ram waits and waits until he is needed to fulfill God's will. Running to the aid of Abraham, the ram must prevail over many temptations in order to save a child. In this lyrically told and beautifully illustrated story, a white ram sacrifices himself to save a boy's life. It is a book that will be adored by readers of all faiths and ages, and will be of special interest during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Secrets in the House of Delgado

Gloria D. Miklowitz

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> History & Historical Fiction -> Fiction -> Europe

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

One girl's difficult choice during the Spanish Inquisition. 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The year is 1492, the place is Spain, and fourteen-year-old Maria is on her own. Her parents and little brother are dead. She hasn't seen her only living relative, her uncle, who is a sea captain, in years. Desperate, she goes to the church her family attended to ask for help. The church helps her to get a position as a maid to a wealthy family, the Delgados. The Delgados are Conversos. They are Catholic now, but in the past, the family was Jewish. The church has placed her in the Delgado home as nothing more than a spy to find out if the family is secretly practicing their old religion. At first Maria is repulsed by the idea of working for a family that was once Jewish, but she comes to see that the Jews are not the evil villains the church has portrayed them as. When suspicion of heresy falls on the Delgados, she is forced to make a difficult choice. I highly reccomend this well-written and fascinating historical novel.

Editorial Review:

In Spain in 1492, fourteen-year-old Maria, a Catholic orphan, becomes a servant to a wealthy family of Conversos, converted Jews, at a time when the Jews are being expelled from the country and when the Inquisition is diligently searching for religious heretics.

Dinosaur on Passover

Diane Levin Rauchwerger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Dinosaur On Passover 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The "bigger than life" orange guest that was introduced in Dinosaur on Hanukkah, returns for another Jewish holiday celebration. This time the overzealous reptile wants to participate in all the Passover rituals with a little boy and his family, no matter how difficult the preparations appear to be! The little boy puts his oversized new friend to work and together they remove the forbidden foods, prepare horseradish, sing the four questions, drink the wine, retell the story of the Exodus, eat matzah, search for the afikomen, and open the door for Elijah. Although "Dino" is very enthusiastic and very focused on being helpful, his huge hulk makes him very clumsy and causes him to wreck havoc at the Seder. The family is naturally relieved when after all his hard work, Dino misses the end of Passover by falling asleep! The simple rhyming text has a lyrical cadence that will be enjoyable to share out loud: " He searches for the afikomen/ The books fly left and right/ I have to help him find it/ So it doesn't take all night." Colorful double-page acrylic illustrations complement the text with many humorous details. In addition, a brief endnote succinctly explains the meaning of Passover, which may spark interest in finding out more about the holiday. For ages 3-5. Reviewed by Debra S. Gold