By Diana Brement, JTNews Correspondent
A number of recently published children’s books provide fun for kids and parents as they learn about Jewish holidays and prayers.
Prolific local author Joan Holub, who has authored a number of books on Jewish and non-Jewish holidays, and many other subjects, has written Apples and Honey, A Rosh Hashanah Lift-the-Flap Book, illustrated by local artist Cary Pillo. Young children like nothing better than uncovering the mysteries behind those little flaps, and this one can teach them about the New Year, which is fast approaching.
In The Perfect Prayer by Rabbi Donald Rossoff (UAHC Press, hardcover, $13.95), the author takes a fanciful look at the origins of the Sh’ma. A queen in need of a prayer asks three advisors for their input. Together they create the prayer that calls our attention to God and God’s creation. Information for parents is included, along with an author’s note in which he explains that the book was inspired by a d’rash
(Torah interpretation) he heard about the origins of the Sh’ma.
Also from UAHC is Shabbat Shalom (softcover, $6.95), an introduction to Shabbat prayers for young children. On one page is a short version of each Shabbat blessing, and on the opposite page a short poem that explains the action behind the blessing (“We bring Shabbat into our home/By giving tzedakah/Shabbat Shalom!”).
For kids who would rather chew on their books than read them, here are four new board books.
The reliable children’s publisher Kar-Ben, brings us The Shapes of My Jewish Year ($4.95), that relates shapes to holidays. A circle, for example, is a matzoh ball (they’re supposed to be round?), an apple or the shape of the rim of the Kiddush cup.
DK Publishing, another children’s book publisher, has released My First Shabbat Board Book ($6.99). Using colorful photographs of children, nature and ritual objects, it tells the story of Shabbat and suggests Shabbat activities.
“Get Ready for Shabbos with Mendel and Count with Mendel, (Judaica Press) both by Naftali Cisner, are part of the publisher’s Mendel Tiny Tots series. A little Jewish boy in traditional Hassidic garb shows little ones how to prepare for Shabbat, and how to count through the holidays.
Moving away from the holiday books we have Something for Nothing by Ann Redisch Stampler, illustrated by Jaqueline M. Cohen (Clarion, hardcover, $15). This charming book retells a folk tale that the author first heard from her grandmother, who emigrated from Poland shortly before World War I. This version features a dog in search of peace and quiet and a gang of rowdy cats, unlike the original in which a Jewish tailor outsmarts some bloodthirsty villagers. The colorful, expressionist illustrations hint at Chagall.
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Washington’s Jewish history, now in print
One of the reasons Family of Strangers: Building a Jewish Community in Washington State (University of Washington Press, $45) is important is the strength behind it. Authors Molly Cone, Howard Droker and Jacqueline Williams are all previously distinguished in writing about — and living — Washington’s history, both Jewish and gentile.
With the backing of the Washington State Jewish Historical Society, Family of Strangers is a work that’s nothing if not expansive. The endnotes and index alone are exhaustively complete, while the authors went far and wide to compile this weighty tome.
Family’s early chapters establish that Washington’s Jewish history is, more than anywhere else in the state, Seattle’s history. While care is made to include Tacoma, Spokane and many of the state’s smaller cities and towns, most of the names and faces belong to the Emerald City.
The early chapters also read like a textbook. Lacking oral experience, and instead relying on documentation and family histories, the early content comes off as a bit dry.
Once they reach the 1930s, however, that begins to change. Conversations with the people who lived the history begin to add more life to the stories.
Separate chapters on Jews in local arts and music show how families expanded beyond the borders of the Central District and Pioneer Square, and began to assimilate into mainstream society. Washington’s Jews have always contributed to the arts, both in talent and dollars, and the book devotes plenty of space to them.
Interesting tidbits abound, such as a report in an early edition of the Jewish Transcript questioning whether the Ashkenazic or Sephardic accents should be taught in the Hebrew schools — it was Sephardic — or how members of the fledgling Congregation Beth Shalom sold fireworks on Aurora Ave. to raise money to hire a cantor for its first High Holidays services.
The exodus from downtown Seattle to Seward Park, the Northend and the suburbs is documented, though not closely examined. What readers may find more interesting is the separations and marriages of organizations and synagogues throughout the region, many of which carry the combined names we know today.
Lifelong residents of the state will surely find this to be an interesting read, if for no other reason than to find their own families, friends, and long-forgotten scandals. With more than 100 photos, many from the WSJHS archives, the look of old Washington comes even more alive.
Newcomers to the area, however, may find Family of Strangers to be someone else’s story — the last 20 years are glossed over in a short epilogue, perhaps in anticipation of a sequel.
— Joel Magalnick