Bagels from Benny

Bagels from Benny is a very sweet picture book that tells the story of Benny, a little boy who loves to help out at his grandfather's bakery and wants to find a way to thank God for his grandfather's wonderful bagels. He hits upon the idea of leaving a bag of bagels in his synagogue's ark- where the Torah is kept- because it just seems sensible to leave a gift for God in with His book. A poor man who comes to pray finds the bagels- and believes they are from God. When Benny's grandfather finds out what Benny has been doing with his bagels, grandfather and grandson share an important lesson about the transformational power of kindness and generosity. It's a really lovely story with an important lesson, based on an ancient Jewish legend from Spain. Petricic's illustrations in watercolor and pencil are by turns funny and beautiful and echo the emotional tones well. It won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in 2003. I love Bagels from Benny!

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman won the 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Award in the category of books for older readers. Fleischman won the Newbery in 1987 for The Whipping Boy. Set in the late 1940s, The Entertainer and the Dybbuk is the story of an American ventriloquist, the Great Freddie, who while on his tour of Europe becomes haunted or possessed by the spirit of a Jewish child slain in the Holocaust. This boy, Avrom Amos Poliakov, now a dybbuk or spirit, has unfinished business and he needs this former American soldier's help to be at peace. Now inhabited by this friendly, often sarcastic, mournful soul, his act has become better than ever. The dybbuk is winning the hearts of the crowds. The crowds of course don't realize that this isn't all an act put on by The Great Freddie. He's gone almost overnight from a mediocre-at-best performer to a real crowd-drawing attraction. But being possessed isn't all fun, the dybbuk means business. And he'll stop at nothing to accomplish his goals.

The book is very good, and I definitely recommend it.

The Castle on Hester Street - Linda Heller

Title: The Castle on Hester Street
Author: Linda Heller (illustrated by Boris Kulikov)
Country: America
Year: 1982
Rating: 5 of 5

First sentence: One day while Julie was visiting her grandparents, her grandfather said, "Did I ever tell you about my good friend Moishe?"

This a cute story about a grandfather's tall tales of the family's immigration from Russia to America. By countering grandpa's stories of castles and moons made of matzoh, with grandma's explanations of how things really were, Linda Heller has created a gem of a book in teaching kids about the experience of immigration. It's an endearing story that all ages could enjoy.

The 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Awards

The 2008 winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards for the best Jewish literature for kids and teens have just been announced! This award is presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries, and there are gold and silver medals for younger, older, and teen readers (as well as a list of notable books that don't get medals). The full info is at http://www.sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com/, but for the moment, please see the video below for an announcement of the gold medalists:



By the way, I've read all three of these gold medalists, and they are all excellent. The picture book winner, The Bedtime Sh'ma, comes with a CD of beautiful, soothing music - what a bonus! The Older Readers book, The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, is not just another Holocaust novel - it's weird, funny, and creepy all at once. The Teen winner, Strange Relations, displays Sonia Levitin's trademark talent of showing different streams of Judaism interrelating. All excellent reads!

New Challenge Member

Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Heidi Estrin and I've recently joined the Jewish Literature Challenge!

I'm involved with Jewish books in several ways. I'm a librarian at Congregation B'nai Israel, a Reform synagogue in Boca Raton, Florida. I host a podcast called The Book of Life, which features Jewish books, music, film and web. And I'm past chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award, which recognizes the best in Judaic children's literature each year. I will definitely be reading more than 5 Jewish books by the deadline of this challenge!

FYI, for those of you who love kidlit, the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee is currently deliberating, and the 2008 winners will be announced in early January! Keep an eye on www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org - and I'll also post an announcement here. The award is given by the Association of Jewish Libraries.

Looking forward to seeing what everybody's reading!