Illustrated by John J. Muth

© 2000, Scholastic, Inc.

For the most part, we try to be on our best behavior throughout the year. We remember to say please and thank you. We speak kindly of and to others. We tell the truth. Of course, everyone makes an occasional mistake, and when we do we normally ask forgiveness of those we hurt. We make amends.

And then there is Gershon. Gershon also makes mistakes, but rather than repair them, he sweeps them into his basement. Then, once a year, at Rosh Hashanah time, he sweeps them into a big bag and dumps them into the ocean near his home. He does not seek forgiveness from God or those he has hurt. He just piles up his “selfish and thoughtless deeds” like so much rubbish and tosses them away, assuming them taken care of. Oh, if it were only so easy.

When Gershon seeks the help of a wise rabbi in order to have a family, the rabbi reminds him of his bad deeds. While the rabbi grants him his wish to have children, he also tells Gershon that in five years he will pay a terrible price for this request. As predicted, a terrible monster arises from the sea, a monster comprised entirely of Gershon’s wrongdoings, and attempts to swallow his children. Terrifying? Yes. Life changing? Certainly, and in Eric Kimmel’s inimitable style, Gershon, his children and all the generations to come learn a very important lesson.

John Muth’s extraordinary watercolor illustrations absolutely consume the reader with emotion, from Gershon’s apathy to the rabbi’s despair and finally Gershon’s terror. This is a powerful book for the High Holidays, one that will move the entire family.

Grade Range: 1^st – 4th Grades

Ages 6-10 years

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were from my personal library.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

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© 2011, Kar-Ben Publishing.

How much fun would it be to take the children on a hike and look for and pick the willow, myrtle and palm branch for your very own lulav? What would it be like to pick bay leaves for your soup pot, grapes or dates for your lunch or pomegranates for dessert while you are walking around on your hike?  Can you imagine having an etrog tree in your front yard? Of course, all of this is possible in Israel (and probably parts of California!) This charming book follows a family as they search for “the four species” in the hills around Tzefat in Israel

The story is well-written, engaging and age appropriate. The photographs are beautiful and draw the reader into the hunt.  Overall, this is a nice addition to the Sukkot collection for young readers.

Grade Level: Pre-K – 3^rd Grade

Ages: 3-8

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were provided by the publisher.
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Adapted and Illustrated by Chedvah Rubin

© 2009, Feldheim Publishers

This beautiful story reveals, the true meaning, and consequences, of performing a mitvah with real intention or kavanah.  Reb Itzik is a poor peddler who loves Sukkot and above all observing the mitvah of having a perfect etrog during the holiday. When one year he buys an etrog “on lay-away” and ends up being the sole owner of an etrog in the region, his love of this mitvah is put to the test. He passes with great rewards.

The writing is fixating, emotional and inspiring. The artwork, which looks to be pen and ink with watercolor paint, is exquisitely detailed, warm and welcoming. The book invites you into itself to listen to its words of wisdom.

While this book is published by an Orthodox publishing house, and therefore some of the language may sound a bit different to those unfamiliar with Ashkenazic pronunciation (i.e. mitzvos versus mitvah, esrog versus etrog), the idea and emotion of the story crosses all denominational boundaries. What is the price of performing a mitzvah with our whole heart?

Grade Range: 3rd-8th Grades

Ages 8-14 years

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were provided by the publisher.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.

As I think about preparing for this tradition, however, I am reminded that bees are in trouble all over the world.  What if there was no honey for us to dip our apples in? Several new books have been published recently to warn of the bees’ plight and seek everyone’s help in looking out for them.

What’s the Buzz? Honey for a Sweet New Year by Allison Ofanansky. Photographs by Eliyahu Alpern. ©2011. Kar-Ben Publishing. Ages 4-9.  In this companion book to Harvest of Light and Sukkot Treasure Hunt, the author and photographer take us on a visit to the Dvorat Havator Bee Farm and Education Center in Israel to learn how bees collect pollen to make honey and to see how it is processed into the food we eat.

The Buzz on Bees: Why Are They Disappearing? by Shelley Rotner & Anne Woodhull. Photographs by Shelley Rotner.  ©2010. Ages 6-10. Holiday House, Inc. In 2006, Dave Hackenburg, a professional beekeeper noticed that all of his hundreds of hives were empty. The bees were not dead, they had disappeared.  This fascinating book explains why the vanishing of bees would be a terrible thing for the world. Bees do more than simply produce honey, they pollinate “one out of every three mouthfuls of food we eat.” That makes bees a pretty important insect.

The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe by Loree Griffin Burns. Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz. ©2010. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.  Ages 8-12. This captivating book, part of the Scientists in the Field Series, delves deeply into the disappearance of bees around the world and the scientific search into the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). You will be reintroduced to Dave Hackenburg, the professional beekeeper who first discovered this frightening problem and to the beekeepers, farmers, scientists and the many others who are pursuing the various leads to the potential causes of the problem.

Honey: A Gift from Nature by Yumiko Fujiwara. Illustrated by Hideko Ise. ©2006. Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Inc.  Ages 3-6. This book, for the very young, looks at bees and how they make the honey we love so much. The language is simple and direct. The illustrations are beautiful and take on the colors of each season being discussed – the greens of spring, the warm yellows of summer, the autumn golds and reds, the greys of winter.  Because it was published before its discovery, this book does not go into the bee problem.  Nevertheless, for the very young, this is a perfect introduction to the wonders of how honey is made.

And with all of this honey, we should have some apples to dip it in, right?

One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert. Illustrated by Karla Gudeon.  ©2009. Blue Apple Books.  Ages 3-8.  Using simple language, this charming book takes us on a journey from picking apples to eating, to leaving some apples for the birds. Seeds fall, a tree grows – with a pull out page – and the cycle begins again. Karla Gudeon’s paintings are bright, bold, colorful and attractive.  Pair this book with What’s the Buzz? Honey for a Sweet New Year or Honey: a Gift from Nature and you will have a lovely read-aloud time with your family for the New Year.

Wishing you and yours a sweet, healthy and book-filled New Year.  L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu – May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.

Happy Reading,

Kathy B.

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review came from my own collection, my local public library or the publisher as a review copy.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.

© 2011, Kar-Ben Publishing.

Talia’s grandmother is making her family a stew to welcome in the New Year. She has asked Talia to go to the garden and “bring back seven root vegetables.” But Talia hears “rude” instead of “root” and wonders, how she will know if a vegetable has been rude?

As Talia digs up the vegetables – onions, garlic, carrots, turnips, potatoes, parsnips and rutabagas (is your mouth watering yet?) – she remembers times when her behavior has perhaps not been at its best and knows this is the time of year she needs to make some apologies to her family members. When Talia unearths a an “onery onion,” she puts that one in the pot, sending the perfectly round onion to the basket. She does the same for the “garish garlic,” “crooked carrot,” “terrible turnip,” well, you get the message. All the “rude” vegetables go to the pot for her family’s stew. The nice, perfect vegetables go in the basket, which Talia delivers to the rabbi to give to a family who may need it.

Talia’s mistake turns out fine in the end, for a vegetable is a vegetable after all. “Very sweet like you,” says her grandmother, because Talia had done a mitzvah by giving the extra basket of vegetables to the rabbi.

This is a charming book for younger children to convey the message of apologizing for our behavior (Teshuvah) at this solemn time of year. It also speaks about Tzedakah in a fun and interesting way.

The illustrations are soft, warm and lovely, while perfectly conveying the efforts Talia must exert to find the vegetables. There is a recipe for “Rude” Vegetable Stew in the back of the book that sounds delicious and may be a featured item on my family table this year

Grade Level: Pre-K – 2nd

Ages: 3-8

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were provided by my local public library.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.

What I think about each Passover – OK,  after the Seder invitations are out, the plague bags are decided upon and the menu is finalized…What I think about as I am putting together our Haggadah, is the amount of courage it must have required for the Ancient Israelites to pack up their families, what few possessions they had and to leave it all behind, for something they could not see or touch-freedom. And though we read several times in the Torah, that the people complained and  may have wanted to go back, they never did. Freedom once tried cannot easily be returned.

This month’s book list honors the courage shown by our ancestors as they travelled out of their slavery and into freedom by providing a taste of that courage through the reading experience.

Younger Readers

Sheila Rae, the Brave. Written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow Books, © 1987. Everyone knows that Sheila Rae is very, very brave. She giggles when the principal walks by,  steps on sidewalk cracks, and rides her bike with no hands.  One day, however, after deciding to take a different path home from school, she loses her way.  Suddenly, she is not as brave as she thinks. Fortunately, she receives help from a very special source. Ages 4-8.

The Empty Pot. Written and illustrated by Demi. Henry Holt and Company, © 1990. The Emperor of China is growing old and must chose a successor.  He decides to give all the children in China a seed from his garden and tells them to grow it. Ping loves to grow plants, but no matter what he does, his seed does not grow. When all the other children bring pots full of beautiful flowers to share with the Emperor, will Ping have the courage to share his empty pot? Ages 4-8.

Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim. By Deborah Bodin Cohen. Illustrated by Jago. Kar-Ben Publishing, © 2009. Nachshon is a slave to the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. He is very brave, avoiding the Pharaoh’s taskmasters and spying for his people, until he is invited to swim in the water. Then he steps back.  Nachshon is frightened by the water. When the slaves are freed from Pharaoh’s slavery and they find themselves at the Red Sea, however, someone must be the first to step in or the waters will not open. Who will have the courage to enter the sea first? Ages 5-9.

Mirette on the High Wire Written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, © 1992. Winner of the Caldecott Medal. Mirette’s mother runs a boarding house for performers visiting Paris. One day, Mirette meets a very talented man who is practicing walking the tightrope in her backyard. He dismisses her requests to learn this skill. Nevertheless, she begins to teach herself. Seeing that she has talent, and determination, he begins her training. Mirette learns however, that he will not take her on the road with him, because he is very afraid after suffering an accident. Can she help him find the courage to return to show business? Ages 5-10.

Call It Courage. Written and illustrated by Armstrong Sperry. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, © 1940. Winner of the Newbery Award. Mafutu is the son of the great chief of a Polynesian clan that worships the sea and courage. However, he is afraid of the water because when he was a young child the sea took his mother’s life and almost his own. In this classic story, Mafutu becomes a legend when he decides to overcome his fear and take on the challenges of the sea. Ages 8-12.

Older Readers

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword. Written and illustrated by Barry Deutsch. Amulet Books, © 2011. Winner of the Sydney Taylor Award for Older Readers. Mirka, an 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl, wants to fight dragons. In order to do that,  she must find a sword. No easy task in the Ultra-Orthodox community where she lives. However with the help of her wise stepmother, a talking pig, a wicked witch and an evil ogre, Mirka achieves her dream. Ages 10-14.

The Breadwinner. By Deborah Ellis. Groundwood Books, © 2000. Parvana and her family are living in a one room apartment in a bombed-out neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her father has been arrested for having a college education and is in prison. The only way for her mother, three siblings and herself to survive is for her to dress as a boy and earn a living on the streets. However, the consequence if she is caught…she does not want to think about, she must simply find the courage to do what must be done to survive.  Ages 11-14.

The Storyteller’s Beads. By Jane Kurtz. Harcourt Brace & Company, © 1998. Due to war, famine and drought, Sahay, a Christian orphan girl, must leave Ethiopia immediately. For religious reasons, Rahel, a blind, Jewish Ethiopian girl is also leaving the country. When these two girls’ paths cross, they must overcome deep animosities toward each other in order that they may both achieve their dreams: Freedom in another country. Ages 11-14.

Homeless Bird. By Gloria Whelan. HarperCollins Publishers, © 2000. A National Book Award Winner. Koly, a 13-year-old Indian girl,  is forced to marry a sickly boy. This is her fate. When he dies, she  becomes part of an Indian widows’ community. When her talent for embroidery is discovered by the community’s benefactor and a new young man begins to take interest in her, will she have the courage to change the path tradition and fate have handed her? Ages 13-16.

The Boy Who Dared: A Novel Based on the True Story of a Hitler Youth. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti.  Scholastic Press, © 2008. Not every German believed the propaganda that was fed to them during World War II. Some individuals did what they could to deliver a different message to the people. This is the story of one such individual who gave up his life for the truth. Ages 14-18.

* * * * * * * *

These titles provide a broad understanding of the value of Ometz Lev/Courage. As you sit at your Seder, whether at home or elsewhere,  listen carefully as the Haggadah is read. If you hear a story, a song or a prayer that sounds like it is describing a brave, daring or courageous moment, shout out, “Ometz Lev. Courage!”  Of course, others at the Seder may stare at you. That’s OK. You can share what you learned and the book you read later, during dinner.  If you are looking for additional information about Passover including a free downloadable Haggadah, visit JewishBoston.com.

Wishing you a Passover season filled with fabulous food, fun and frogs,

Happy Reading,

Kathy B.

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were from my personal collection and from my local public library.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.

Score: 3.5

© 2011, Kar-Ben Publishing.

Once again, Rabbi Joe Black allows one of his songs to come alive in the pages of a book (Boker Tov! Good Morning!) Just in time for Passover, our children will be dancing to a Latin rhythm as they get ready for the Seder and their search for the Afikomen. The lyrics are simple, with an easy rhyme. The illustrations are sweet and funny. The enclosed CD will have everyone up and on their feet, wiggling and jiggling in time to the music. Young children will ask to have this repeated until next Passover, so watch out.

A great gift for a family with young children should you be a guest at a Seder.

Grade Level: PreK-2nd

Ages: 3-7

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were provided by my local public library.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.

Score: 4.0

© 2010, Holiday House, Inc.

This charming retelling of the classic Little Red Hen story, has Ms. Hen trying to prepare for her Passover Seder. First, she needs to make her matzah. Seeking help from her barnyard friends for the planting, harvesting, milling and baking of the matzah gets her no takers. No one has the energy or enthusiasm to assist. Of course, she had to prepare the dinner, set the table and get everything ready all by herself as well. However, when night falls, and it is time for the Seder, suddenly everyone needs a place at the table. Can Ms. Hen refuse? Of course not!

In the end, her friends let Ms. Hen sit and relax as they clean up everything. Now that is a fine group of menshes.

The ink, watercolor and pastel illustrations are delightful, bright, colorful and bold. Yiddish words are used throughout the book in fun and appropriate ways to add a perfect Jewish twist to an already wonderful new version of this story.

Ages: 4-9

Grade Level: PreK-3^rd

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were provided by my local public library.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.

I often feel that way when I am reading a really good book. With each chapter, I just can’t wait to read the next, to learn more about the characters, to see what they are going to do in the following pages. Sometimes I am up until the “wee” hours of the morning, because I just can’t put the book down. When I am finished, I feel so happy… until of course the next morning when I have to wake up and go to work. Nevertheless, I have a great story to talk about and share with my readers or students. Nothing could be better…until the next wonderful book falls into my hands.

My choices for this month’s books for older readers are the ones I could not put down. They made me laugh, made me cry or knocked me off my feet, but in the end, they kept me awake until the final page turn filled me with joy. I hope they do the same for you:

All-of-a-Kind Family. By Sydney Taylor. Illustrated by Helen John. © 1951, Yearling. The classic story of a family with five girls living in the Lower East side of New York in the early 1900’s. Their celebration of life in the face of sometimes bleak living conditions is a wonderful look at “seeing the glass half full.” Based on the author’s life.  Ages 9-12 years.

The Importance of Wings. By Robin Friedman. © 2009, Charlesbridge.Publishing. Winner of the Sydney Taylor Award for Older Readers. With appealing and affecting writing, this novel grabs the reader immediately and takes you on a journey of self-discovery, confidence building and empowerment as Roxanne, with a small amount of help from her next-door neighbor Liat,  discovers she has what it takes to be her own person. Ages 10-14 years.

A Pickpocket’s Tale. By Karen Schwabach. © 2006,  Random House Books fro Young Readers.. In 1730, Molly Abraham is living in the streets of London following here mother’s death from smallpox. She supports herself by pickpocketing. Having been caught and tried in a court of law, she finds herself on a ship headed to America as an indentured servant. The ship arrives in New York, where she is ransomed by a Jewish family. In their household she learns how to be a good servant and a practicing Jew. Ages 11-15 years.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic. By Sarah Darer Littman. © 2005, Dutton. Winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Older Readers. Justine Silver has decided that for Lent she will give up being Jewish. This is just the beginning of her struggles with being the middle child, boys, chocolate and of course, religion. Ages 11-15 years.

Strange Relations. By Sonia Levitin. © 2007,   Knopf Books for Young Readers. Winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Teen Readers.  Marne simply wants a nice summer on the beaches in Hawaii visiting her aunt and cousins while her parents are travelling on business. What she gets instead is the discovery that her aunt and uncle run the Chabad House on the mainland of Hawaii, and she is expected to pitch in. Her experiences provide her with some new insights into her religious identity. Ages 14-18 years.

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. By Dana Reinhardt. © 2006, Wendy Lamb Books. Simone knows she is adopted and wants nothing to do with her birth mother. At her adoptive parents’ insistance, however, she agrees to meet her birth mother one time. What she discovers is both enlightening and tragic. Ages 14 – 18 years.

I certainly hope you do not stay up until the “wee” hours reading these titles, after all, a good night’s rest is most Important. If you do, however, email me at kathyb@forwordsbooks.com. I will be happy to send a note to your teacher/boss explaining why the book kept you up so late that you overslept and were late for school/work. Beware: You will first have to answer a question or two to prove to me that you read the book.

Have a delicious Purim!

Happy Reading,

Kathy B.

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review were from my own collection and my local public library.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.

© 2011, Kar-Ben Publishing

The author who brought us the delightful, “Let My People Go!” has written a new Readers Theater style book based on the Purim story. For the very young, this is a perfect read-aloud version of the Book of Esther, told in rhyme with simple language and fun, brightly colored illustrations.

However, for those students who can read by themselves or even memorize words, this has the makings of a wonderful Purim Schpiel with rioles for a Narrator, King Ahashuerus, Queen Esther, Mordechai and Haman. Of course, there needs to be an audience to boo and hiss whenever Haman’s name is said.

There are sure to be lots of laughter in small groups or large if this book is part of the Purim festivities.

Grade Level: K – 4th

Ages: 5-10

©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
The book used in this review was provided by the publisher.
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book title referred to on my web site and purchase it from Amazon,

I may receive a very small commission on your purchase.

You will incur no additional cost, however.

I appreciate your support.