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For a holiday storytime, pick up one of these new Jewish kids’ books

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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/40729/full/40729/for-a-holiday-storytime-pick-up-one-of-these-new-jewish-kids-books/ For a holiday storytime, pick up one of these new Jewish kids’ books Thursday, December 3, 2009 | by steven friedman Maya enjoyed reviewing two Jewish reggae CDs for j. last Chanukah so much that she begged me to critique the latest crop of holiday picture books for young children. “But I’m probably going to use some post-modern literary analysis and deconstruction theory,” said our 3-year-old. “Either that or I will just babble a lot.” <img alt="CHANkids books" class="left" height="269" src="http://www.jweekly.com/images/uploads/z_photos_2009/c12_04_09/CHANkids books.jpg" title="CHANkids books" width="216" />Part of the problem for Maya and me, since we read lots of books together and apart, is finding something unique or special. “Menorah Under the Sea” definitely offers a twist to the standard holiday story. Author Esther Susan Heller utilizes actual photographs from a biology expedition to Antarctica to highlight the magic of Chanukah and teach kids about sea creatures. Heller captures the story of marine biologist David Ginsburg and his intrepid team as they conduct research in the frozen and hostile outback located at the bottom of the world. Ginsburg lived at the McMurdo Research Station for five months during what is winter in our hemisphere, but is summertime in Antarctica, which means 24 hours of daylight. How could Ginsburg celebrate Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, without some darkness to make the light shine through? Heller shows how Ginsburg and his associates used sea urchins on the bottom of the frozen ocean to create a mystical underwater menorah and celebrate the holiday. Part early childhood marine biology primer, the lively prose and detailed science presentation is also powerful because it links the amazing survival of sea urchins with how the Maccabees persevered under unforgiving conditions more than 2,000 years ago. <img alt="CHANkids books2" class="left" height="324" src="http://www.jweekly.com/images/uploads/z_photos_2009/c12_04_09/CHANkids books2.jpg" title="CHANkids books2" width="216" />Another book is “Grandma and the Katsel,” which Maya immediately said, after looking at the first picture, was about a kitty going in a car. Actually, the book is a mini-memoir of the author, Sande H. Zirlin, a retired art teacher and president of her synagogue in Amsterdam, N.Y. The text is very straightforward and not at all exciting. The strongest part of “Grandma and the Katsel” is the illustrations, simple and direct creations done by award-winning artist Linda Tracz. While the story is personal and may not have broad appeal, Zirlin does capture some of the drama that intrigues young children by focusing on how her grandparents learned to love the stray cat that wandered into their lives. “Hanukkah Around the World” by Tamar Lehman-Wilzig, with illustrations by Vicki Wehrman, is an excellent encyclopedic journey to several exciting places across the globe for kids in first to third grades. The book is part geography, part Jewish culture and heritage primer, and part glossary of Chanukah terms and concepts wrapped around stories that illustrate the diversity of Jews and Jewish ritual. Maya especially liked the chapter on Chanukah in Istanbul, where the character Molly dreams of burmelos, fried fritters. “Clever Rachel” by Debbie Waldman, with illustrations by Cindy Revell, is the retelling of a Jewish folktale in which Rachel, the innkeeper’s daughter, and Jacob, son of the baker, must work together to solve a tricky riddle. The illustrations are bold and whimsical and the text is very entertaining with a feminist slant. Rachel, raised by her father to appreciate riddles, has to work with Jacob, a young Talmud scholar, who doesn’t believe girls are smart enough, in order to help Miriam marry the man she loves. Maya’s first question was, “What’s a riddle?” “It’s a puzzle with words,” I said. “Oh.” She asked more questions about the text and illustrations as I turned each page, which led me to believe that this exceptionally well-done book is more suitable for children ages 6-8 than our preschooler. There is even a page of riddles to test one’s power of deductive reasoning at the conclusion of the book. The last book, “Something From Nothing” by Phoebe Gilman, is also an adaptation of a classic folktale, filled with Gilman’s excellent illustrations that were done in oil and egg tempera. The extremely engaging story is about Joseph and the blanket his grandfather made him when he was born. As Joseph grows, the blanket wears out and his mother urges him to throw it away. But Joseph rightly insists that his grandfather can make something out of it. Each new creation suffers the same fate. But the story unfolds as Joseph’s grandfather snips and sews the blanket into a jacket, vest, tie, handkerchief and, lastly, a button before Joseph finally loses the family keepsake. I will not spoil the ending by sharing how Joseph turns nothing into something. Once I finished the book, though, I said to Maya, “What did you think of ‘Something From Nothing’?” “I liked that book.” “Why?” I asked. “Because,” she replied, which may be the ultimate affirmation from a 3-year old. “Menorah Under the Sea” by Esther Susan Heller (32 pages, Kar-Ben Publishing, $17.95) “Grandma and the Katsel” by Sande H. Zirlin (36 pages, RoseDog Books, $19) “Hanukkah Around the World” by Tami Lehman-Wilzig (48 pages, Kar-Ben Publishing, $16.95) “Clever Rachel” by Debby Waldman (32 pages, Orca Book Publishers, $19.95) “Something From Nothing” by Phoebe Gilman (32 pages, Scholastic Press, $16.95)

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