Featured Reviews
Do the Right Thing, in the Right Way, and Often: G’milut Hasidim/Acts of Loving Kindness
10/01/11
As we continue to follow the text of the Eilu D’Varim prayer, this month we will focus on the second item in the list: G’milut Hasidim/Acts of Loving Kindness.
So important are these deeds that they are part of what, according to The Rabbis, is holding up the world: “The world stands on three things: Torah, Avodah (worship), and Gemiilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness)” (Ethics of the Fathers/Pirke Avot, 1:2).
Acts of Loving Kindness/G’milut Hasidim are the actions we perform for others that require us to give a little bit of ourselves. They are activities we put some thought or effort into before, during and after we do them. We think about the people we are helping, the organization we are serving, or how exactly the money we are donating is going to help whoever we are giving it to.
Are we supposed to give until it hurts? Well not exactly, but we certainly should be aware that we are doing something important, not mindlessly going through the motions. We should be working, writing or acting with intention or kavannah.
The books I want to suggest to you this month, clearly demonstrate Acts of Loving Kindness filled with intention.
The Lion & the Mouse Written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, © 2009 (ages 3-9) In this Caldecott Award winning, wordless picture book adaptation of the classic Aesop’s fable, a meek little mouse disturbs a resting lion. Unexpectedly, the lion lets the mouse go. When later, the lion is captured in a rope trap, the mouse repays the kindness by freeing the lion.
The Bear Who Shared Written and illustrated by Catherine Rayner. Dial Books for Young Readers, © 2010 (Ages 3-7) The plorringe is about to ripen. Norris, the bear, patiently waits as Tulip, the raccoon, and Violet, the mouse, touch and test the delicious fruit. Who will get the ripened fruit when it finally falls?
Rabbit’s Gift By George Shannon. Illustrated by Laura Dronznek. Harcourt, Inc., © 2007 (Ages 3-8) Winter is coming. When Rabbit finds two turnips, he is happy thinking he will be set when the snow comes. However, when he thinks about his friend Donkey, who is all alone, Rabbit decides to give his second turnip to her. But Donkey has plenty of food, so she shares with Goat, who shares with Deer, who shares with…As each animal thinks of another friend, they come to realize there is enough food for all of them to share what they have together.
Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed By Emily Pearson. Illustrated by Fumi Kosaka. Gibbs Smith, Publisher, © 2002 (Ages 4-8) Ordinary Mary changed the world by picking some ordinary blueberries from an ordinary bush, putting them in an ordinary bowl and setting them on Mrs. Bishop’s porch. Mary’s simple act sets off a chain reaction that sends a message of love to every person in the whole world.
God Said Amen By Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. Illustrated by Avi Katz. Jewish Lights Publishing, © 2000 (ages 5-9) The Kingdom of Midnight has plenty of water but needs oil to light their lamps at night. The Kingdom of the Desert has lots of oil but needs water for their garden plants. Unfortunately, the Prince of Midnight and the Princess of the Desert are both too proud to ask for what they need and too stubborn to give what they have without being asked. In the end, a simple act of kindness by two young people brings the two kingdoms together.
Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot: A True Story of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy that Dropped from the Sky By Margot Theis Raven. Illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen. Sleeping Bear Press, © 2002 (Ages 8-11) Mercedes and her mother are living in West Berlin during the Soviet blockade of the city in 1948. Food and fuel are scarce, but when Mercedes’ mother reads her a newspaper story about a Berlin Airlift pilot who is dropping candy for children out of his ariplane, Mercedes decides she must get some.
Love, Ruby Lavender By Deborah Wiles. Harcourt, Inc., © 2001 (ages 9-12). Ruby Lavender loves her grandmother, Eula. She has the exact opposite feelings about her schoolmate, Melba Jane. When Ruby is “abandoned” by her grandmother, who must leave their small town of Halleluia, Mississippi to visit a new grandchild in Hawaii, Ruby puts her loneliness and energy into raising her three chickens.
Maniac Magee By Jerry Spinelli. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, © 1990 (Ages 10-14). In this Newbery Award Winning book by a master storyteller, we read the legend of Jeffrey Lionel Magee. As with most legends, the lines between fact and fiction are a bit blurry. What is true, however, is that Jeffrey Lionel Magee left a definite impression on the town in which he lived.
Makeovers by Marcia By Claudia Mills. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, © 2005 (Ages 11-15). Marcia is “overweight” by 5 whole pounds, is praying her 8th grade dream date will ask her to the fall dance and has just learned her art teacher thinks her drawing of a girl looks like “Barbie.” Things could not get any worse…until her Social Studies teacher assigns her to a community service project at the nursing home! What is she supposed to do with a bunch of old people?
Every Soul A Star By Wendy Mass. Little, Brown and Company, © 2008 (Ages 11-15). Three teens come together to witness a total eclipse of the sun and find that their lives are about to be changed forever.
Notes from the Dog By Gary Paulsen. Wendy Lamb Books, © 2009 (ages 13-16). Finn planned to spend the summer sitting at home, reading and not talking to any more than 12 people. That was until Joanna moved in to house sit next door. Joanna decided that Finn should plant a garden for her – in his back yard! But wait, there’s more…much more.
The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back. By Kevin Salwen & Hannah Salwen. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, © 2010 (ages 14-Adult). Seeing a homeless man and a person driving an expensive car at the same time on the same street corner triggers a life changing decision for one family. They will sell their house and give half of the profits to charity.
In order that each child reading these books will get the most from them, I created Speak Volumes: A Jewish Values Based Family Reading Program. Go to the Family Reading Program Section of my website, locate the October/Tishrei list of discussion questions and activities. Use these when reading together with your children to see and understand the value of G’milut Hasidim/Acts of Loving Kindness in each of these books.
Wishing you a wonderful Sukkot.
Happy Reading,
Kathy B.
©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review came from my own collection or 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.
Apples Dipped in Honey for Rosh Hashanah
09/20/11
In one week, we will be celebrating the beginning of a new Jewish year. For many years, my family has welcomed in the New Year using the “Home Service for Rosh Hashanah” found in All About Rosh Hashanah by Judyth Groner and Madeline Wikler, Illustrated by Bonnie Gordon Lucas. ©1997 Kar-Ben Publishing. We light the candles, say the blessing over the wine, bless the round challah and then dip a slice of apple into honey and say the blessing for a sweet New Year. After all that, we begin our holiday meal.
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.
The September Jewish Book Carnival
09/15/11
forwordsbooks is thrilled to be hosting this month’s Jewish Book Carnival, a gathering of blogs about Jewish books and other happenings in the Jewish world. Please visit this month’s participants and comment on their web sites making sure you tell them you saw their post at the September Jewish Book Carnival.
Would you like to get to know more about the authors who write your favorite books? Or perhaps you are looking for a little background music while you read? Check out these fantastic websites:
Listen to The Book of Life’s newest podcast episode featuring Sarah Darer Littman talking about her novel Life, After, a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book for teens. Her novels are always brave, taking on subjects that others might fear to talk about.
Barbara Krasner at The Whole Megillah: The Writer’s Resource for Jewish-Themed Children’s Books provides a very special look inside the book with an Author-Agent-Editor Three-in-one Special Notebook about OyMG byAmy Fellner Dominy
Jewish Book Council’s Intern, Alyssa Berlin, discusses the trend in “Reading with Soundtracks.” This is an awesome look at the connection between books and music. Be sure you have your MP3 player and ear buds on hand.
Erika Dreifus shares a Q&A with author Anna Solomon about THE LITTLE BRIDE, Solomon’s new historical novel featuring a Jewish mail-order bride who travels from Odessa and lands in South Dakota.
With so many new books to choose from each month, it is wonderful to have dedicated reviewers to let us know about the best of the bunch.
Amy Meltzer at Homeshuling: A Jewish Parenting Blog provides an excellent review of the new Kar-Ben book, Joseph and the Sabbath Fish by Eric Kimmel in her blog Joseph and the Sabbath Fish, or I Love Eric Kimmel, Part Two.
Barbara Krasner at The Whole Megillah: The Writer’s Resource for Jewish-Themed Children’s Books reviews OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy
BostonBibliophile is taking the Art of the Novella Reading Challenge. Read the review of her third novella, Stempenyu: A Jewish Romance by Sholem Aleichem, and follow her progress toward her goal of reading six novellas in 30 days.
Also from the Jewish Book Council, guest blogger Wayne Hoffman (Sweet Like Sugar) offers a Gay Jewish Reading List .
Visit Sylvia Rouss’ website to read her newest book, Jognau, the Dreamer, an original story by Sylvia Rouss and Raoul Wallenberg Prize winner, Ambassador Asher Naim, illustrated by Dawn Phillips. Ambassador Naim and Sylvia have donated the story to the Scholarship Fund for Ethiopian Jews. Sylvia’s son Jordan, an attorney, and his good friend Geoffrey Bennett, an NPR producer, volunteered to produce and narrate the animated version which you can also see on the site.
Then hop over to Barbara Bietz’s “Jewish Books for Children with Author Barbara Bietz” for some inside information from Sylvia about how she came to meet Ambassador Asher Naim and subsequently write a book in partnership with him. It is always very interesting how the stars align in writers’ lives.
Jonathan Kirsch reviews Portraits in Literature: The Jews of Poland, An Anthology edited by Hava Bromberg Ben-Zvi, reminding us that while over half the Jewish victims of the Holocaust were Polish Jews, “Poland was the seat of a vibrant and enduring Jewish civilization that survives on the printed page and, in a real sense, in many of our own ideas about what it means to be Jewish.”
Here at forwordsbooks, we kicked off the New Year with “The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far: Honoring One’s Parents/Kibud Av v’Em,” a look at books that support this most difficult of all commandments.
And last but not least, learn how the research can have a bigger impact on the writer than the writing, in this fascinating blog by Linda K. Wertheimer:
In “Visiting Mosques Teaches Countless Lessons, “Jewish Muse blogger Linda K. Wertheimer recounts the lessons she learned when she visited mosques while shadowing middle school students as they learned about world religions. She was surprised at how much she learned along with them.
As always there is much to read, explore and learn from each of these wonderful websites. Don’t forget to tell them you were here and where you heard about them, if you drop by for a visit. Next month’s Carnival will be hosted at Homeshuling. For more information about the Jewish Book Carnival and a list of all the participants, please visit the Association of Jewish Libraries’ Jewish Book Carnival blog. Thanks for stopping by!
Wishing you a sweet, healthy and book-filled New Year.
Happy Reading,
Kathy B.
©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
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.
“The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far”: Honoring One’s Parents/Kibud Av v’Em
08/31/11
As we explore Jewish values together this year, I will be using the Eilu d’varim prayer, “These are the obligations without measure…,” that is traditionally recited each morning as the basis for our study. That prayer contains a list of the ten most important actions a Jew can perform during her or his lifetime. First on the list is Kibbud Av va-Em/Honoring One’s Parents.
While searching for books that would be helpful, I came across a wonderful poem that fit the bill perfectly.
Seeds
You drew pictures of life
with your words.
I listened and ate these words you said
to grow up strong.
Like the trees, I grew,
branches, leaves, flowers, and then the fruit.
I became the words I ate in you.
For better or worse
the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Javaka Steptoe, In My Daddy’s Arms I AM TALL: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. ©1997. Lee & Low Books Inc.
With those words in mind, the following is a list of books for all ages to read and enjoy. To get the most out of reading these books, “For Values’ Sake,” go to the Family Reading Program Section of my website and find the September/Elul/Tishrei list of discussion questions and activities. Use these when reading together with children to reinforce your understanding of Honoring One’s Parents/Kibud Av va-Em .
Old Bear and His Cub. Written and illustrated by Olivier Dunrea. Philomel Books, © 2010. Ages 3-5. Old Bear and Little Bear love each other very, very much. Even though Little Bear doesn’t always want to listen to Old Bear, a gentle stare sets him in the right direction. When Old Bear doesn’t want to listen to Little Bear, he learns that his lessons have paid off in a very important way.
A Chair for My Mother. Written and illustrated by Vera B. Williams. Greenwillow Books, © 1982. Ages 4-6. A young girl, her mother and grandmother, lose everything when their apartment burns down. Despite the generosity of their neighbors who provide furniture and toys for their new apartment, what the girl longs for is a comfortable chair for her mother to sit in when she comes home from work.
The Emperor and the Kite. By Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Ed Young. Philomel Books, © 1988. Ages 5-8. Largely ignored, Princess Djeow Seow finds her inconspicuous nature and talent for kite flying to be of tremendous value to her father when he is kidnapped and shut away in a prison.
Winter Shoes for Shadow Horse. By Linda Oatman High. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. Boyds Mill Press, © 20
01. Ages 5-8. A boy watches his father as he shoes a horse in their blacksmith shop. When his father tells him it is his turn to put the last two shoes on the horse’s hooves, he cannot believe it. Slowly and carefully, he does the job, just as his father had taught him.
Brave Irene. Written and illustrated by William Steig. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, © 1986. Ages 6-9. When Irene’s mother falls sick and cannot take the ballgown she has made to the duchess, Irene takes it for her. In spite of a blizzard, she manages to get the dress where it belongs.
Papa’s Mark. By Gwendolyn Battle-Lavert. Illustrated by Colin Bootman. Holiday House Books, © 2003. Ages 6-9. Election Day is coming and Simms wants to be sure his Papa can write his own name on the ballot.
In Our Mothers’ House. Written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. Philomel Books, © 2009. Ages 7-10. A special family with two moms shows a neighborhood that all families are the same when the house is filled with love.
The Janitor’s Boy. By Andrew Clements. Aladdin Paperbacks, © 2000. Ages 9-12. Jack Rankin leaves a huge w
ad of watermelon bubblegum under a desk to make the school janitor work hard for making him so angry.Unfortunately, the trick backfires and Jack gets caught. Now he has to work for the school janitor cleaning gum from under desks, and the school janitor is his dad!
Up a Creek. By Laura E. Williams. Henry Holt and Company, © 2001. Ages 11-14. Starshine Bott has had just about enough of her mother, Miracle’s, causes. This time she is living in an oak tree to protect it from being cut down. What is a daughter to do with such an embarassing mom?
Just Ask Iris. By Lucy Frank. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, © 200. Ages 11-14. Iris’ mother has left her father and moved to a new apartment building. It’s summertime and her mother wants Iris to stay inside and use an ancient program to learn to type. Iris tries, but decides to help out some of the neighbors instead.
Child of the Owl. By Laurence Yep. HarperCollins, © 1977. Ages 13-16. When Casey’s dad winds up in the hospital, she is sent to live with her Chinese grandmother in San Francisco. There she learns more about life, love and family then she ever expected.
Level Up. By Gene Luen Yang. Illustrated by Thien Pham. First Second, © 2011. Ages 13-18. In this extraordinary graphic novel, the son of immigrants is made to live up to his parents’ expectations that he become a doctor. When he rebels, his life takes some interesting turns.
I was honored to be given a grant by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies to write a monthly column about the Speak Volumes program for the CJP’s Family Connections Newsletter. You can sign up to receive this monthly newsletter, a great source of information for parents of young children, at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ website..
As you read and process these books, if you need any additional information, have questions or comments about the Speak Volumes program or are looking for a book for a specific need, please contact me at kathyb-at-forwordsbooks-dot-com.
Happy Reading!
Kathy B.
©2011 Kathleen M. Bloomfield and forwordsbooks.com all rights reserved.
Books used in this review came from my own collection or 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.
