Jewish

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story

Celebrate: A Book of Jewish Holidays

Gershon's Monster: A Story For The Jewish New Year (Gershon's Monster)

Rather than regret or atone for his everyday mistakes, baker Gershon simply sweeps them into his basement. Once a year on Rosh Hashanah, he stuffs these demon-shaped transgressions in a giant bag and dumps them into the Black Sea. Of course, Gershon must discover sooner or later that his selfish acts cannot be disposed of so easily. In spite of a pointed warning from a rabbi, Gershon refuses to realize that his behavior will come back to haunt him someday. It's only when he is faced with the monstrous bulk of his misdeeds that Gershon finally, truly repents.

Eric A. Kimmel's beautiful retelling of the traditional Hasidic legend for the Jewish New Year captures all the weighty value of responsibility and forgiveness. In his author's note, Kimmel describes the Rosh Hashanah ceremony called tashlikh, in which people gather at the seashore or by a river to recite biblical verses and turn their pockets inside out, allowing bread crumbs to fall into the water--a symbolic casting-off of sins.

Award-winning illustrator Jon J Muth's expressive and luminous watercolors, suffused with the pale golden light of day or oppressed under a lowering coastal sky, are unforgettable, as is the remarkably frightening yet stunning "immense black monster covered with scales like iron plates," on each of which is written one of Gershon's misdeeds. Muth's extraordinary work can also be seen in author Karen Hesse's lovely picture book Come On, Rain! (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie Coulter

Wonders And Miracles: A Passover Companion (Wonders And Miracles)

Between the covers of this elegant volume dwells a thorough and thoroughly engrossing compilation of stories, songs, recipes, artwork, prayers, and commentary on the beloved Jewish holiday, Passover. Eric A. Kimmel, acclaimed author of more than 60 titles for children, including the Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, outdoes himself in this mother of all Passover books, going well beyond the typical retelling of the Passover story. Using the seder, the ceremonial Passover meal, as a starting point, Kimmel walks readers through every step of the holiday, using ancient and modern stories and illustrations to explain the legends and history behind the rituals. He includes contributions from writers such as Nina Jaffe, Debbie Friedman, and Rabbi David Schaps (a.k.a. Grandma Tirzah), and stunning artwork that spans 3,000 years and four continents, for a truly beautiful, comprehensive treasury that will be brought to the Seder table along with the Haggadah for years to come. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter

Hanukkah at Valley Forge

A soldier tells George Washington the miraculous story of how a ragtag army of Jewish soldiers defeated a much larger force of powerful Greeks, a tale that provides just the kind of inspiration the General needs. “Quietly beautiful watercolor illustrations draw a visual distinction between the frigid blue Pennsylvania night and the golden light of ancient Israel, which is further reflected in the warm glow of the Hanukkah candles.” —School Library Journal

The Trees of the Dancing Goats (Aladdin Picture Books)

Polacco has a warm, colorful illustrative style that has enriched her numerous other works such as Babushka Baba Yaga and I Can Hear the Sun. Here she applies it to what at first seems the simple story of a Jewish girl, Trisha, and her Christian neighbors, whose bout with scarlet fever at Christmas threatens to ruin Trisha's Hanukkah. Trisha and her family respond with a loving gesture that is rewarded in kind.

Trisha loves the eight days of Hanukkah, when her mother stays home from work, her Babushka makes delicious potato latkes, and her Grampa carves wonderful animals out of wood as gifts for Trisha and her brother. In the middle of her family's preparation for the festival of lights, Trisha visits her closest neighbors, expecting to find them decorating their house for Christmas. Instead they are all bedridden with scarlet fever. Trisha's family is one of the few who has been spared from the epidemic. It is difficult for them to enjoy their Hanukkah feast when they know that their neighbors won't be able to celebrate their holiday. Then Grampa has an inspiration: they will cut down trees, decorate them, and secretly deliver them to the neighbors, "But what can we decorate them with?" Babushka asks. Although it is a sacrifice, Trisha realizes that Grampa's carved animals are the perfect answer. Soon her living room is filled with trees -- but that is only the first miracle of many during an incredible holiday season.

Based on a long cherished childhood memory, this story celebrates the miracle of true friendship.

The Story of Passover (Trophy Picture Books)

Every spring, Jewish families throughout the world gather around their tables to celebrate Passover. With poems and prayers, with wine and food, they share the ancient story of the Hebrews in Egypt, and how Moses convinced Pharaoh to set his people free.

Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah (Sammy Spider's First Books)

Sammy watches longingly as Josh Shapiro lights another candle and receives a brightly-colored dreidel each night of Hanukkah. "Spiders don't spin dreidels, spiders spin webs!" Sammy's mother reminds him. Then on the last night, Sammy gets his own spinning surprise. Full color.

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins

What are the poor villagers to do? The holiday-hating, hill-dwelling hobgoblins are bound and determined to ruin yet another Hanukkah for them. Every year the beasties snuff out the menorah candles, destroy the dreidels, and pitch the potato latkes on the floor. But these wicked wet blankets never counted on someone as clever as Hershel of Ostropol showing up. Using his wits and a few props--pickles, eggs, and a dreidel (a square-shaped top with Hebrew letters on each side)--Hershel manages to outwit all the creepy critters and break the spell. This fabulously creative adaptation of the ancient Hanukkah story in which the Syrians forbade the Jews to worship as they wanted, keeps the spirit of the original while adding a spine-tingling twist. Warmth and humor prevail, even in the midst of hopeless-looking circumstances. Award-winning illustrator Trina Schart Hyman creates lively and witty pictures that pair perfectly with Eric Kimmel's words to create this Caldecott Honor Book. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

A traveler rids a village synagogue of goblins by outwitting them. A Caldecott Honor Book.

Dance, Sing, Remember: A Celebration of Jewish Holidays

From Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, in early fall, to Shavuot, celebrating the first harvest of the spring and the accepting of the Torah, Dance, Sing, and Remember offers an engaging, colorful introduction to the moods and meanings of a variety of Jewish holidays. Leslie Kimmelman invites readers to honor 11 of these special days by learning what each one is about and how it is observed. Kimmelman's warm, accessible writing provides enough background information for anyone--Jewish or not--who wants to understand why a sukkah (hut) is built in the backyard during Sukkot, or when the shofar (long, twisty horn) is blown, or how to play the dreidel (spinning top) game. Ora Eitan's unusual and appealing illustrations appear framed in white, and superimposed on full spreads of background color and patterns. Perhaps most intriguing of all is the two-page spread for Yom Hashoah, the sad and serious day in which Jewish people remember the Holocaust, the Shoah. Grainy gray turns to a solid black backdrop, with a small silhouette of a bird flying off a corner of the page. Most of the other illustrations are full of light and color, so this contrast is especially striking. Incorporating recipes, activities, music, and stories, this lovely picture book provides a window to the idea that "every holiday is a way of remembering, a way of connecting children to their parents and grandparents and to their parents and grandparents--all the way back to the very first Jews." (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Do you know what holiday to sound the shofar for? Or when to build a sukkah?

Now you can learn, in this celebration of eleven Jewish holidays, from Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to Shavuot, the accepting of the Torah. There's even a section on Shabbat, the Sabbath. The meaning and story behind each holiday are explained. There are also activities, music, and recipes for adults and children to work on together.

Leslie Kimmelman has created a timeless Jewish treasury, and Ora Eitan's rich, stylized art perfectly captures the mood of each celebration.

Open the pages and discover that a whole year of Jewish holidays is beginning!