As a Jewish family, Mary's bookshelf is lined with nothing other than Jewish kids' books. And here are some of our current favorites.
Rifka's parents are actors in the Yiddish theater in New York, but one day Rifka finds herself center stage in a special role!
A slice of immigrant life on New York's Second Avenue, Rifka Takes a Bow, new from Kar-Ben, is a unique book about a vanished time and place - the Yiddish theater in the early 20th century - made real through the telling of the true life story of the 96-year-old author as a little girl.
Anna is excited to be the flower girl at her aunt's wedding, but that morning she wakes up and . . . "AH-CHOO!" "Don't sneeze at the wedding!" everyone from the florist to the rabbi warns her, but will their remedies work? Anna stifles her sneeze as she scatters rose petals down the aisle, as Aunt Rachel takes her place under the chuppah, as the rabbi says the Seven Blessings, and as the couple signs their ketubah. But then, oh no . . . AH-CHOO! Clever Anna discovers a perfect moment to let her sneeze slip and not interrupt the wedding!
When Sadie runs to show her mother the Hanukkah menorah she made in preschool, she trips, the menorah shatters, and she is devastated. But when she finds that the shammash is unbroken, a new family tradition is born. In Sadie's Almost Marvelous Menorah, little Sadie learns to look for the good even in a difficult situation, a good lesson for young readers. She also learns that starting a new tradition is often as much fun as following an old one, a good lesson for parents, too!
It's hard to pick the perfect gift, and Esther the Gorilla's choices seem all wrong at first in Esther's Hanukkah Disaster. But the problems get sorted out when she invites her friends to a joyful Hanukkah party. Filled with visual puns that will entertain kids and adults alike, this story about the joy of giving teaches that the holiday of Hanukkah is not just all about the gifts.
In ABC Hanukkah Hunt, new from Kar-Ben, join a colorful, interactive rhyming search for Hanukkah foods, gifts, and symbols! From A for King Antiochus to Z for "ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz" for the sound of everyone tucked into bed, this book will keep children searching.
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