Bring Back the Babka!

 

Shortly before Shabbes, the freshly baked babka disappeared. Sol and Sammy, followed by the dog Mazel, are helping their mother to find it, hoping that they will be lucky enough before the guests are coming for dinner. On their way, they are welcomed with delicious Jewish foods - cholent, gefilte fish, compote - and although the babka seems to have vanished without a trace, they are bringing back home kind foodie gifts for their evening meal. 

Bring back the Babka! by Marilyn Wolpin with colourful illustrations by Madison Safer, to be published this October by Barefoot Books, is many things at once: a funny foodie mystery - wait until the end for a smart hint -, a book about Jewish foods and traditions, a refreshing story about solidarity and friendship. 

As I consider myself a skilled creator of babka, and a hungry consumer as well, I couldn´t resist a story created around one of my favorite Jewish treats. At the end of the story, there is a short glossary - with photos - of the foods introduced and a recipe of babka I can´t wait to test it.

The book is recommended for pre-school and primary school little readers and their parents. It teaches in a joyful funny way about traditions while inspiring the children to be kind and empathic. A recommended read to both parents, their children and Jewish educators and babka lovers too.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the published in exchange for an honest review

Discovering Jewish Diversity for Children: Almost a Minyan

 

Learning as a child, with love about different customs and approaches to the daily practice is an important step towards embracing diversity at the old age. No matter our own personal choices, acknoweldging and further on accepting that other people may have a different understanding of Jewish practice is relevant for building up a healthy realm of tolerance and mutual acceptance.

Almost a Minyan by rhymes by Lori S. Kline, and illustrations by Susan Simon, published almost five years ago by Sociosights Press can guide pre-school and first grades children towards the path of acceptance. 

A girl is watching her father every day leaving the house early in the morning to pray at shul. She is waiting for the moment when she will be counted as part of the minyan - the ten persons required for a praying quorum within the small Jewish community she is living. As her zayde - grandfather in Yiddish - died, she will replace him, by using the tallit and tefillin who belonged to her grandpa. 

Some may not be used with the idea of women wearing a tallit or kippa or tefillin or being counted as part of the minyan. Many may reject it automatically as a corruption of religious practices. Nevertheless, there are women and communities who do practice differently, including by assigning different, more diverse roles to women. Exactly what Almost a Minyan is outlining, especially by the match between old and new traditions. 

A recommended read, including for your long winter Shabbos days, or as an inspired lecture preparing for the next month of chagim.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Two Inspiring Jewish Books for Children

Pesach is always a good time to connect with family and spend more time with children. Inspired by the story-centered ambiance, it is much easier to continue after the Seder with even more Jewish-related stories, with or without a holiday topic.

This Pesach I´ve had the chance to read to my boy two inspiring and beautifully illustrated stories, courtesy of Kalaniot Books, a unique edition house whose books I hope to have the chance to review again soon. 

The Melody by Oded Burla, translated from Hebrew by Ilana Kurshan

Translated by Ilana Kurshan, The Melody is told in the pace of the old Yiddish stories. Created by the late Oded Burla, the founder of children´s literature in Hebrew, it is the parable of the Jewish connection with Gd. Took by the wind, a melody is looking for the right voice to told its story, but most potential beneficiaries, refused it up front. Until it finally reaches the mother about to sing a lullaby to her son. The mother´s voice embraces the melody putting the son to sleep.

Similarly, Gd tried to offer the Torah to other peoples but only the Jewish people accepted the gift without too much ado. 

The beautiful illustrations are signed by Assaf Benharroch.

A Persian Passover by Etan Basseri

Set in the Iran in the 1950s, A Persian Passover by Etan Basseri is more than your usual Pesach-related kind of story. Although it has reference at customs and traditions typical for a Persian seder - for instance, the haleq and the funny custom of hitting your neighbour during the seder with the leek - it is also a story of kindness and good neighbourhood. 

The super active Ezra is running too fast, stumbles and fells in the middle a puddle, and together with him the precious bundle of freshly prepared matzah for the Seder. After desperately trying to find some available matzah on the eve of the Seder, the generous neighbour next door will share hers, and in exchange the children - Ezra and his sister, Roza - invite her to their family Seder.

It is a kind story, with colourful dynamic illustrations that suit it perfectly, created by the very talented Rashin Kheiriyeh. 

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review

Children Book featuring Ladino Culture: The Key from Spain by Debbie Levy

I am very happy to discover lately so many events and discussion groups and publications - online particularly - dedicated to feature the Ladino language and culture. I am sure many of them were there already for a long time already and it´s only me who is a late comer in this movement, aimed to feature and outline an unique episode of the Jewish history.

As usual, it started with a tragedy that, as usual, we tried to get the best of it: as Jews were persecuted from Spain, they moved on to the Balkans particularly and especially Turkey. Carrying with them the language and the key of their houses, they contributed alongiside with the other communities to the new definitions of the modern states. I am far from being a naive assuming that life was ever easy for Jews living there, but no matter what, they were able to strive.

The Key from Spain by Debbie Levy, colourfully and beautifully illustrated by Sonja Wimmer, published in 2019 by Kar Ben Publishing is dedicated to the memory of the late Ladino singer Flory Jagoda. A Bosnian Jew with Spanish roots, she carried with her the songs and memories of the lost worlds and was an important supporter of the Ladino revival.

In a language accessible to children - preschool and first to mid-grade - the book convenes in few and simple words both the global and the personal histories: of the Jews fleeing Western Europe but also of the brave Flory who remained faitful to her culture and happily shared it with the older and newer generations of Jews from Ladino families. Children books on such topics are even more important than academic studies about Ladino because it raises the interest among the little ones at an age when they are curious and open to learn about the world, but also about themselves and their families. 

The book also includes a couple of words in Ladino, enough to create a certain level of expectation among the children for learn a bit more.

I am glad that such books exist and I was able to read it to my son. As I was growing up, Ladino was rarely, if ever mentioned and there were, for sure, no pedagogical resources and no children books to make you aware of your heritage. I am glad that nowadays there is a strong support to diverse identities among the Jewish communities, too much reduced before to the Askenazi vs. Mizrahi (with the Sephardim included here for the wrong reason of the mental comfort) duality. 

I hope to have the chance to read soon to my son and review more and more books on Ladino-related topics.

Buen Shabat, Shabbat Shalom!

 

A fierce supporter of Ladino culture, Sarah Aroeste is a complex personality, besides being a singer she also published one year ago a book featuring Sephardic traditions. Buen Shabat/Shabbat Shalom, illustrated by Ayesha L. Rubio is a good introduction to both children and parents into the world of Sephardic Jews.

Particularly, the book does a good work of introducing the world of Ladino, the language spoken by Jews originary from the Iberian Peninsula. In a very simple and genuine way, the reader is introduced to a couple of words said on Shabbat in addition to a couple of visual details to be added to the general story. It is a very short read but leaves strong memories, especially to children. 

As someone who is trying to learn more about the Ladino culture and heritage, this book was exactly the easiest incentive to want to find out more. Actually, I may have some interesting books related to the Ladino language and culture coming up for review very soon.

Until then, I am glad that my son was so interested by the book that he keeps repeating over and over again Buen Shabat, Buen Shabbat...It´s a big step, I think, towards the celebration and preservation of the Sephardic culture. One baby step at a time.

Rating: 5 stars  

5 Books to Read for Jewish Children this Summer

Summer holidays are here and when the little ones are not running around the parks or the house, enjoying a play date or spending some quality time far away of the parents in a summer camp, books are a perfect companion to fill the long hours of the summer days.

For curious children and smart parents, I made a short selection of recommended books for children, offered by Kar-Ben Publishing House.

With beautiful colourful illustrations, this book offers a 'creative legend' about the father of world's great religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It starts with the story of a little boy who lived in the city of Ur, surrounded by idols, which were not offering him a satisfactory answer to his questions. He starts his own journey of finding something greater than the idols, his search ending with the discovery of something the One how created all. A book recommended to kids at the age of big questions. 

Through the story of a family moving to a new house, this story explains the meaning of the mezuzah. Recommended to children from 3 to 7, it is more than a didactic introduction, but goes far beyond bringing life to a lot of funny characters. It is a story about friendship and sharing common memories, like the mezuzah is supposed to remind, among others.

As a first book for children until 3 years old, Before We Eat. A Thank you Prayer is a perfect introduction to the bracha after food. It teaches that saying 'thank you' for the gifts and blessings we have is not a compulsory act, but an act of gratitude. Easy written with big colourful illustration, it makes it an easy pleasant yet meaningful read for toddlers.

This book is just adorable. Populated with funny and friendly and guests-welcoming characters, it tells a hilarious story of a Seder evening which seems to have a generously open list of guests. Every important moment of the Pesach meal is outlined by the apparition of more and more sheep-guests. Many are bringing in presents, others are just bumping through the door happy to find a place to celebrate the evening, a delight for the children, and a big organisational challege for the parents - where can all of them be seated, after all? A funny children read for the long Pesach Seders or just for the bedtime stories time, thinking about that time of the year. 

Inspired by true stories of Jewish immigrants in America from the 19th century, this beautifully illustrated story has a sparkle of magic. Feivel, a wood-carver, left his family in Europe while landing to New York to make a fortune and start a new life. Luckily, during a weekend trip to Coney Island, he finds a job opening to work for a carousel company. The figures he created and which brought him enough money to pay the passage to America to his beloved one, are inspired by his sons, wife and daughters. It is a story which resonates with immigrant families in general, and creates empathy for similar contemporary stories. 

Disclaimer: Books offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The story of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra told to children

Telling to nowadays children stories about the past, especially about history, is quite a challenging task. You need to find your way smoothly towards their preferences and sensibilities and interests, and when it comes to books, the challenges are even higher. However, a good book telling a good story is always a win, and regardless how much your kid loves playing network games on the computer, he or she will always find some time for listening to a quality narrative.

A Concert in the Sand tells beautifully, both through text and very inspiring images, the story of the first performance of what will later be Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in 1936. Created by the once child prodigy Bronislaw Huberman, it gathered the best European Jewish artists, and their performance in Israel meant bringing back warm memories from the 'old country'. 

Through a very personal story, between a grand mother and her nephew, an entire world is delicately created, without teaching on purpose or aiming to lecture. The historical details are coming along smoothly and the beautiful images helps to fix it in the long term memory.

This book is recommended to any history lover kids. It brings to life a story less known and unjustly forgotten from the history of Israel, whose European culture remains an important asset through decades. 

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher

A Gefilte Fishy Tale

It is Friday and Bubbe Judy is ready to prepare the Shabbos table. Of course the fresh gefilte fish jar, her grandson's favourite dish is there, and everything seems to be under control. Everything until the sturdy nasty jar doesn't want to open. At any price, even if you take it to the doctor. Hypnosis doesn't help either. Everyone keeps going on and around the jar trying to find help for fixing this very important issue, but without any success. What's to be done? The more they try the more desperate they are. It seems the jar is listening only to those whom share the ardour for the delicious gefilte. Nephew Jack is the chosen one who will be able to open the jar just by saying 'Please'. Sometimes, we forget how easy and beautiful is to utter this very magic word. This could be the Shabbos lesson for this week.

I've found the book very inspiring, funny - the verses are flowing well and the choice for poetry is quite appropriate for this story - and with dynamic illustrations. The characters are modern - not wearing sheitels or long skirts - but still anchored in the tradition: they buy kosher and prepare the Shabbos table and use once in a while Yiddish - a dictionary is provided for the newbies. A typical Jewish American family nowadays, but it can resonate with other Jews that still want to keep the old traditions, but in their own way. Being non-judgmental is the best way to understand the new ways of being Jewish nowadays, outside the religious shtetls. 

As a lover-without-borders of gefilte fish, I fully approve this book. Ironically, it happened to me more than once to deal with serious jar stubborness, and only the kindness of my neighbours saved our Shabbos meal. I never tried the magic word with the jar though...In the book, Bubbe promised herself to choose a can the next time and maybe I should too.

The book has also a Shabbos song, and a recipe for gefilte fish muffins that maybe I will try once in a while.

If you are looking for an inspired present for your children for the coming holidays, this book is a good idea.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange of an honest review

Teaching children gratitude: Yitzi and the Giant Menorah

This is not a book about Hanukah, but about being grateful and thankful for the gifts we are given and, in general, for good things that are happening to us. Aimed for preschool and first grade children, this very beautifully illustrated work of writing tells a story taking place in the famous - for the Jewish world - village of Chelm, in Poland. This place was known for the less gifted minds of its citizens, but being intelligent does not make you automatically a better human. The - Jewish - mayor of  Lublin sent to the people of Chelm a giant menorah for Hanukah, and they were all the time thereafter trying to find solutions about what to send him in exchange. At the beginning, they are not very lucky about that: the delicious latkes made by Rivka the Cook are eaten before delivery, the giant ice is melting. Finally, they decide about something more symbolic: they all get together and lit the menorah, with all the beautiful lights reaching as far as Lublin, where the mayor was invited to watch the gratitude show from a hill. This was the most beautiful gift, worth all the material presents because it magnified the gesture creating a bigger, majestic effect. And this is the essence of the holiday of Hanukah, to be grateful for the wonderful small things that happened to us.

This book can be used as the starting point of a long discussion about gratitude and interacting with the others peers, either at home or at school. The language is simple, and the illustrations are inspiring - either colourful, with a Chagall touch, or very strong black graphics.
At the end of the book, the holiday of Hanuka is explained at length.

The author, Richard Ungar, is an artist with a lawyer background that authored and illustrated many books, including a series based in Chelm.
The book will be available on Amazon beginning of September, which makes it a great gift for the Rosh Hashana or Hanuka.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher via NetGalley.com, in exchange of an honest review.