Sammy leads young children through the steps of the Passover seder, telling the story of the Exodus, asking and answering the Four Questions, and sampling the traditional foods. Includes creative readings and songs, as well as colorful paper collage art by Katherine Janus Kahn.
Finn and Ezra's bar mitzvah weekend takes on a Groundhog Day twist in this hilarious and magical middle grade novel from Joshua S. Levy. Winner of a National Jewish Book Award and a Sydney Taylor Honor Book!
Finn and Ezra don't have a lot in common--except, of course, that they're trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop, reliving their celebrations in the same New Jersey hotel over and over and over again. Not ideal, particularly when both kids were ready for their bar mitzvahs to end the moment they began. Ezra comes from a big family--four siblings, all seeming to get more attention than him, even on his bar mitzvah weekend. Finn is an only child who's tired of his parents' constant focus, even worse on his bar mitzvah weekend. They just want to get past it, just want to grow up. And now they're both stuck. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. No way out.
Until Finn and Ezra meet and realize they're not alone.
Teaming up, they try everything they can think of to break the loop. But nothing works, and after every reset, the boys' schemes become more desperate. As their frustrations build, the questions mount and real-life problems start to seep through the cracks. With all the time in the world, can Finn and Ezra ever figure out how to move forward?
A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Book of the Year 2024
A celebration of family, culture, and the enduring bond between generationsThe Mitzvah Fairy wakes up early to spread joy. He fluffs his wings. Then he grabs his crown and wand. First stop: Bubbe and Zayde's house. Bubbe has the sniffles so the Mitzvah Fairy swoops in with chicken soup. This will make you feel better, Bubbe, he says. Next, he zooms over to his neighbor's garden where he waters the plants and fills the birdfeeder. At the end of a busy day, the Mitzvah Fairy has one more thing to do―give his dad a great big hug. An author's note matches up the mitzvahs in the story with Jewish values.
Based on the true story of luthiers who repair Holocaust-era violins.
Papa plays beautiful music on the violin, sometimes quick and lively and sometimes slow and sorrowful. But one night, there is a pounding on the door and a Nazi soldier snatches the violin away. The violin is silent for years until a luthier finds it and says, I can fix you. Then a man comes to the shop and buys the violin for his son. In the boy's hands, the violin feels familiar, like a melody remembered from long ago.
In this concept board book that also teaches colors, cute kids celebrate the holiday of Purim. Lily, in her red Queen Esther costume, brings red apples to the Purim party. Leo, dressed as a yellow hamantaschen, brings yellow bananas, and Eli, in his King Ahashverosh costume, brings purple plums. But who brought the hamantaschen to the Purim party?
Grover and his friends are getting ready for Shabbat. First they clean the house and bake challah. They say the blessings, and then they eat a tasty Shabbat dinner.
Two thousand years ago, a ship sailed east, alone on an endless sea.
The people onboard were fleeing the same war that the Maccabees
fought in the ancient land of Israel. They took with them their faith
and their traditions, knowing they would sail for more than a year.
When a great storm crushed their boat on the shores of India, only a few survived.
Some say the prophet Elijah plucked them from the sea.
But they were welcomed by the people of the new land.
They survived and adapted, with new spices for their food and
new clothing and culture to borrow, but never strayed from their faith.
They say Elijah came back down from Heaven in a chariot of fire, to praise
this community, the Bene Israel of India for their strength, and their belief.
Here, for all to share, is their story.
The dramatic story of neighbors in a small Danish fishing village who, during the Holocaust, shelter a Jewish family waiting to be ferried to safety in Sweden - based on a true story.
It is 1943 in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Anett and her parents are hiding a Jewish woman and her son, Carl, in their cellar until a fishing boat can take them across the sound to neutral Sweden. The soldiers patrolling their street are growing suspicious, so Carl and his mama must make their way to the harbor despite a cloudy sky with no moon to guide them. Worried about their safety, Anett devises a clever and unusual plan for their safe passage to the harbor.
Rachel thinks she will feel like Queen Esther when she rides an elephant draped in fancy fabric through the streets of Rangoon. Then she notices the old elephant's bruised and cracked feet, and she doesn't feel so royal. So when Rachel wins the gold Purim crown at the synagogue celebration, she has an idea about how she can help the elephant. Inspired by the author's mother's memories of growing up in the Burmese Jewish community.
Miri will miss the Chinese lions in front of her apartment building. What will happen to her now that it's moving day? Fortunately Zayde, her Jewish grandfather, and Yeh Yeh, her Chinese grandfather, have some surprises to help her feel at home in her new apartment.
Each night when she says her prayers, Rebecca thinks of her Papa who lost a hand while fighting in President Lincoln's war. He still believes the war was righteous: We Jews, who were once slaves in Egypt, should never let another human being be held in slavery. Our America should not be their Egypt. One Saturday morning at synagogue, the rabbi has some shocking news: Last night President Lincoln was shot. The cantor starts to sing the Mourner's Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. Without prompting, Rebecca, her father, and all the congregants join in, mourning the President as one of their own. Based on a true story.