3 comments about Hanukkah Cat.

1. A stray cat turns up on the door step. It is the first night of Hanukkah--even mother and father can't turn it away. Later the cat's love of Latkas saves a lost child. Guess who has a new home on the last night of Hanukkah.

   I used to read this charming story to my Kindergarten class until I loaned it to someone who did not return it.




2. My father and granfather read this book to my twin sister and I when were about 8 years old (approx. 1990) and it still makes me smile. It was a great way to teach the Hanukkah story and I even have pictures of my great-grandfather (who is now deceased) reading along with my to Hanukkah Cat.



3. My sincerest thanks to the online reviewer who read this book with her grandfather. As the illustrator of this book, I cannot say what a great happiness it is to know my illustrations have been part of a loving memory.

2 comments about Messy Bessey's Holidays (Rookie Readers).

1. Short stories with good color illustrations. Pictures are fair - easy to read, with good informantion in the 5 to 8 year old age group. Short 1 character settings around Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and New Years. I would recommend this one to K through the 2nd grade levels



2. Maybe it's the cookie aspect, but my son (just turned 5) really likes this Rookie Reader book. The story, as you can gather from the title, is about Messy Bessey and the Holidays. It involves making cookies for her friends and neighbors and this time the mess she makes is in the kitchen.
   
   The book touches briefly on the holidays of Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. To that end, Bessey and her mom make cookies in different shapes which they then share out. An example of text follows.
   
   Menorahs, candles, fruits, and bells
   are signs of the holidays.
   
   All over, people celebrated
   in many different ways.
   
   Christmas,
   Kwanzaa,
   and Chanukah,
   no matter what the reason,
   here's a gift from Bess to you
   to celebrate the season.
   
   The book then ends with a recipe for sugar cookies. [My son likes the book so much he makes me read the recipe. Go figure--lol]
   
   Four Stars. Can't beat a Primer that promotes cleaning up after oneself. This Messy Bessey is about the winter time holidays. The vocabulary is rather harder in this book than other Bessey's because of the holiday words themselves and it is listed as 2.3 on the Accelerated Reading scale. Or in other words, this book is suitable for a child reading at the [...]level. Harder words include: community, celebrate, hillside, shepherds, wonderful, and working. 123 different words.
   
   ~review by Pam T.~

1 comments about Milk and honey: a year of jewish holidays.

1. My favorite artist is Louise August as when I was a poor rabbinical student my Mom died. All I could afford to memorialize her passing was a numbered signed lithograph of a lady lighting Shabbat candles. It was by Louise August. I thought that the lady depicted was the essential spirit of my Mom. It is now over 40 years later, and I still take pleasure in looking at pictures which capture Judaism in a positive, colorful and nostalgic way. The words, stories, poems and comments compiled in this short explanation of the Jewish holidays come from a variety of sources. Even after 34 years of being a rabbi, there were new insights, tastes of the past, and visions of the future which add to my spirituality. It is not a perfect score for the stories might be too rich for some, and honey of the pictures is way too sweet. Israel Independence Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day and minor holidays are not mentioned or depicted. For a quiok short snack, especially at the holiday time, this "nosh" of knowledge is quite acceptable.

5 comments about Penina Levine Is a Hard-boiled Egg.

1. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the wit and wisdom of Penina. Rebecca O'Connell's book taps in to the frustration we all have felt when an authority figure (in this case, a teacher with a fixation on the Easter bunny) disregards our most diligent efforts to be understood. Start with a Passover feast, add an annoying younger sister, an empathetic friend, and a rich seasoning of humor...and you have the recipe for a rewarding reading experience.



2. Tenacious sixth-grader Penina struggles to retain her beliefs, trust in adults, and humor while going through what seems like unfair obstacles in the course of growing up. Will an impossible assignment, troublesome younger sister, unsympathetic parents, tricky friend, and attending a school where her heritage is in the minority, weaken her or give her strength? Is telling the TRUTH and self-control always better than just DARING to pay for the consequences of one's actions?
   Rebecca O'Connell manages to have all readers experience with Penina the joys and struggles of one's heritage in this flowing story. It is not until the reader of any background has finished enjoying the book that they realize the wealth of information they've gleaned not only about the Jewish culture, but the unique beauty of their own as well.
   As a school librarian I recommend this must-have library book to students who want to laugh at the important daily issues of grouping up, as well as to students and teachers interested in diversity. This is one of the few young adult books that lovingly DARES to be sensitive to such major topics.



3. The girl is spunky, truthful, hardheaded, true to her beliefs and most importantly, very believable. Although written for maybe 8-11 year olds, Penina is very much beloved by my 6 year old, a self described "agnostic" and myself a tripped off the religion wagon ex-Catholic with a Jewish father. It is a great book for helping my daughter explore her Jewish heritage and a great starting point to discuss religion, faith, beliefs, traditions, and how much she dislikes dealing with her little sister. It has a wonderful "conversation starter" in my house. Penina Levine is a real find.



4. Penina Levine is one of only two Jewish sixth graders in Mrs. Anderson's class in public school. The class has been given an assignment to write letters "from the Easter Bunny" to kindergarten kids in the nearby Holy Family School. Penina strongly believes she should not write the letter because she is Jewish and Easter is a Christian holiday. She doesn't tell her parents about the assignment because she feels they don't listen to her and favor her younger sister, Mimsy. She does tell her grandmother however, when they are preparing the meal for the Passover Seder. Her grandmother says she is like a hard-boiled egg because when you boil it, it gets hard, just like the Jews: "When the heat is on, we don't turn to mush-- we get tougher." Her grandmother is proud of her for sticking up for her religion and not writing the letter. Eventually Penina tells her parents about the assignment and they tell the principal, who then talks to the class about diversity. Mrs. Anderson, Penina's teacher, apologizes and Penina and her family invite her to a Shabbat dinner. The story moves along briskly and Penina is an appealing and feisty Jewish character with much humor. The various black and while line drawings complement the text. For ages 9 -12.



5. My 9 year old granddaughter cried when she finished the book. Not because it was sad but because her " favorite book EVER " ended. Can there be a better review ?
   I am a little sad too, because we have to wait till September for the next Penina book. But, Ahh, the anticipation.

No comments about Bubbe Isabella And The Sukkot Cake.

1 comments about Apples and Honey: A Rosh Hashanah Lift-the-Flap: A Rosh Hashanah Lift-the-Flap (Lift-the-Flap, Puffin).

1. Cute book goes over Rosh Hashahah preparations. Keeps baby's intrest with all the little flaps. Would be nice if the book was a little more substantial (thicker paper) because it tends to get beaten up pretty quickly.
   
   However, the craft idea in the back is terrible. Wish they hadn't just thrown it something that simplistic and silly.
   
   Not a bad purchase overall.

1 comments about My First Passover.

1. Sure, Tomie De Paola is a famous author. But that doesn't mean that every book is a hit. This book is a decent overview--there are no details...i.e. (The Haggadah) "tells us the story of Passover." Nu? So where is the story? OH... second to last page, where there is one sentence "We celebrate Passover to remember when Moses led the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt." But there is no picture that shows this exciting event!
   If you are only going to buy one Passover board book, make it "My First Passover Board Book" by DK Publishing.... excellent pictures, details on all aspects, and real life pictures. You can adapt it to younger kids by skipping stuff... and it still makes sense.

5 comments about Hanukkah: A Counting Book In English - Hebrew - Yiddish (Hanukkah).

1. It's rare enough to find a book that is also a work of art in and of itself, but a children's book with such high artistic standards is a unique accomplishment. Hanukkah: A Counting Book is a delight to explore, and is guaranteed to entertain adults as well as children. Children will love the fun graphics as they learn to count while absorbing the meaning of the holiday, and parents will be intrigued with the unique logic of the text and graphics, which are woven together in a creative structure which unfolds progressively, much as the holiday itself unfolds from night to night.



2. My kids love reading the book over and over again!

   We give it as a gift to friends and family.




3. Because my kids really love this book, I brought a copy to Israel to give to their cousins. Had I known the kids were going to fight over it, I'd have brought one for each of them!



4. This lovely book has beautiful, bright graphics, as pleasing to a 2 year old as to a 4 year old and beyond! The text is clear and informative. A pleasure to read!



5. The type is incredibly hard to read because of the background colors! Other than that, a nice little counting book.

3 comments about Sammy Spider's First Passover.

1. Mrs. Rouss, I know this sounds hard to belive, but I was in your pre school class at Beth Tofilah in Baltimore! I loved your book! Very creative!



2. This book is very good for young children of all ages. It teaches the children in a fun way why we celebrate Passover and the history about it.



3. Sammy Spider was fast asleep in his family web up on the Shapiro's ceiling. A warm spring sun shown through the window, and suddenly a loud noise wakened him.

   Mr. Shapiro was dusting the ceiling with a broom. Sammy's mother explained that each spring, when the Shapiro family cleaned for Passover, the Spiders made a new web. As his mother told him how to spin a web, Sammy was distracted by the squares on the table below.

   "That's called matzah." Mrs. Spider explained that the Shapiros would eat it at their special meal, called a seder, which also featured a big platter with a roasted egg, bone, parsley, charoset and bitter herbs to help them celebrate. Sammy watched Mr. Shapiro hide the afikomen. After the meal, his son Josh would have try to find it to earn a prize.

   Sammy was simply not interested in making a web. He listened to Josh ask the Four Questions--why was this night different from all other nights? When Josh hunted for the Afikomen, he also found a special present from Sammy Spider. But that's a secret also hidden--between the covers of this cute book.

   This book is a special Pessach delight for the three-and-under set. Alyssa A. Lappen

2 comments about Let My People Go! (Passover).

1. This lively picture book is a playful articulation of the Israelites's exodus from Egypt. Constructed as a reader's theater, the book's rythmic poetry entrances as it follows Moses and his navigation through Pharoah's broken promises to the haunting victory at the end of the story. Warm and witty illustrations by Ilene Richard invite the reader to linger on each page. They are especially strong in their depiction of wildlife--I never pictured the glee of "hungry locusts" quite as I picture it now. This is an energetic compilation of inspired verse and charming illustration.



2. This delightful picture book has several appealing features. First, it is written in different-colored inks to denote the speaking parts of all the characters in the book for an interactive reading. This is called "Readers Theater". I've never seen this done before, but I loved it, and it actually made the book an easier read. Second, the book is written in rhyme that is simple, beautiful, and easy for a child to understand. I really loved this book! Author Tilda Balsley did a super fantastic job with her obvious skill in rhyming text to make this a fantastic read-aloud story!
   
   It's actually about Moses and the Pharaoh of Egypt. The story takes you through all ten plagues visited upon Egypt because Pharaoh wouldn't let Moses and the Jewish people leave Egypt. Even though the scriptural story is a familiar one for many, this book makes it come alive in a new way from the beginning to a very satisfying ending.
   
   The illustrations by Ilene Richard are very colorful and kid friendly. I especially liked her use of the "balloon" like you see in comic strips to show more dialog from the characters - in fact, it was done with such fun and humor that I was really laughing. What a fun way for kids to learn all about this period of time. I give this book a high five for the overall readability and understanding and color - a very gentle read, too! This is a great book for home, school, or religious service, especially when used as Readers' Theater.