Recommended children's books: Gavriel and Jemal: Two Boys of Jerusalem by Brent Ashabranner photographs by Paul Conklin. Juv 956. This book tells the story of two boys in Jerusalem. Gavriel lives in the Jewish quarter and Jemal lives in the Palestinian quarter. The ancient beauty of the city from both perspectives is shown in photographs of the inside of their homes, peoples faces, markets and buildings. Gavriel age 12 and Jemal age 14 both enjoy their lives in Jerusalem in a way that seems to override the fear and violence that keeps them in separate worlds -- almost. The joy in reading about these boys growing up in a city that appeals to so many of us is touched with enough military intrusions and sadness to make me want nothing but peace for the boys and their loving families.
Hidden Child by Isaac Millman to be donated as soon as my son writes his DCF book report. We loved this book written and illustrated by the author from his memories of being hidden during the Holocaust as a child in France. 50 years later he told his story of losing his family and changing his identity, yet never forgetting who he is, in the form of this book that made me want to linger on every word and drawing. There are a few photographs of the important people in his life as well. This book is much more about love than death and destruction. With everything falling apart around this boy from about age 7-14, he is carried along by sparks of light in the form of incredible people or perhaps angels.
Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman. Aaron Wagner, Kitah Vav, said this book is about a boy looking up to his Grandfather. The story incorporates the Jewish values of awe/reverence and optimism. Grandpa can fix anything. He can make Joseph a jacket from a worn out blanket, a vest from a too small jacket, a tie and eventually a cloth covered button. Aaron really seemed to enjoy the illustrated subtext at the bottom of the page. "The mice are a community who live under the floorboards and constantly get scraps from Joseph's blanket."--Aaron Wagner. Please encourage your children to send in book, CD or video reviews. We even have book reviews forms in the library. Children are welcome to write a review or draw and picture. Reviews can be published in The Voice!
The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli. Isaac Gittelsohn, Kitah Hey, really enjoyed this book that has been nominated for the Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award. I didn't believe him when he said that a Jewish Italian boy living in 19th century Italy was sent to America by his mother, who does love him, as a stowaway on a cargo ship. It's true that his desperately poor mother who is unable to get a job, even though she can read, sends her son to America for a better life and probably so people will not know that she has an illegitimate child. Her love for him appears again and again in the symbol of the new shoes she buys for him with the tassels from his grandfathers tallit hidden inside. The shoes and memories of his being told to share everything you have as well as a few other important memories from his Jewish Italian upbringing miraculously keep him alive and away from the padrones who take slave owner control of other young boys who are sent to America without their parents. Isaac said the padrone part was sad. When I read the book I could really picture 19th century Italy and New York as well as the characters in the story. Napoli is a good writer. The story is loosely based on the story of Napoli's grandfather's who was sent to America as a stowaway possibly at age five as well as historical research. Soon to be cataloged on in the juvenile section.
The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter and Giselle Potter. This picture book is about a boy who has a passion for collecting words. The word collection is incorporated into the collage style illustrations. The boy is so one track minded that when the other children are playing ball he's sitting on the outskirts listening and adding to his word collection. He is donned oddball and becomes lonely and sad. His mother, "a large lovely woman from the Old Country" (first hint that they might be a Jewish family) waves her arms in the air in a "windmill of worry." -- great illustration. Not to worry (here's the most Jewish part of the book), the word collector falls asleep one night and dreams about a genie who explains to the boy in a very Yiddish accent that, rather than being an oddball, he has "...vhat people search their whole life for--an enthusiasm, a passion." The rest of the book is about the boys discovery of the purpose for his passion for words. Children will learn new words in a not explicit but appealing Jewish setting. There's a glossary in the back.
The Angel's Mistake: Stories of Chelm by Francine Prose, pictures by Mark Podwal. This picture book is based on Chelm Jewish folk tales. Numerous authors have included these stories in their collections of folklore. Grab these stories whenever you see them because you and your children will end of laughing together. The entertainment is as good as watching a Woody Allen movie. The people who live in Chelm call themselves "the wise men of Chelm." because they think they are able to solve complex problems such as how to prevent wet shoes when walking in the snow. Putting their heads together, the wise men of Chelm figure out that wet shoes can be prevented if people wear their shoes on their heads and walk barefoot through the snow. The great thing about a picture book based on Chelm stories is seeing the illustration of a man with a boot on his head and barefoot in the snow.
Albert Einstein: The Jewish Man Behind the Theory by Debra Newberger Speregen. “Was he rich. Was he famous? Was he like really smart?”
“Yes,” I answered my son who always asks those three questions about people in any kind of spotlight. “However, when he was in school Einstein’s teachers told his parents that he would never amount to anything. After Einstein died, scientists examined his brain for more gray matter. They found nothing unusual about his brain. Some of his contemporaries were considered to be more knowledgeable in math and science. He was slow to learn his own language and had more trouble learning other languages. How did Einstein become rich and famous for being a genius? He was able to think outside the box and HE BELIEVED IN WHAT HE WAS DOING so you too can become a genius and/or pursue your dreams. Einstein also seemed, from the book, like a good person who was kind to children and a patient teacher. I highly recommend this book for older children interested in role models. Juv 92E
Recommended adult books: God Wears Lipstick: Kabbalah for Women by Karen Berg. My first thought when I saw this on a bookstore shelf is why do we need Kabbalah especially for women. Kabbalist Karen Berg who apparently directs Kabbalah centers with her husband Rav Philip Berg all around the world (check out their website kabbalah.com), speaks about Kabbalah from a feminine perspective even though Kabbalah study has not traditionally been open to women in many religious affiliations. She talks a lot about our relationships with family and friends and how we can avoid repeating negative patterns. How? The book made me think of the bumper sticker "Peace begins with me." We are constantly presented with the choice of going towards negative or positive energy. Energy is masculine. The vessel for that energy is the feminine. Some of us have more feminine natures and some of us have more masculine natures. The trick is to know ourselves and figure out how to keep bringing the positive energy into our lives which will ultimately affect other peoples lives. Bringing the positive into other people lives is the best that we can do according to Karen Berg. This book is very readable and almost fits into the self-help new age category of books. Is astrology really part of this ancient spiritual system? Reading this book was fun and made me curious to know a little more about Kabbalah.
The Ladies Auxiliary and The Outside World both by Tova Mirvis. The characters in these readable and entertaining books are on the inside world of Orthodox Judaism looking out. As a Jew who lives outside the world of Orthodox Judaism, I really like being a fly on the wall in Tova Mirvis's books. Not only does she bring me into the Orthodox community but she brings me into the Orthodox community in Memphis, Tennessee. "Y'all" is uttered by an Orthodox Jewish mother serving fried chicken on Shabbat. What fun. Tension arises because the outside secular world cannot be completely ruled out. Memphis has a small Jewish community, as is easy for us to imagine living in Burlington, which is more difficult to separate from the outside world than, for example, some of the very large Jewish communities in New York. Do differences enhance their lives or do they need to build thicker walls?
Miriam's Kitchen A Memoir by Elizabeth Ehrlich. Elizabeth Ehrlich tells the story of her Orthodox mother-in-law Miriam and Miriam's traditional Polish Jewish recipes which have traveled with her through the Holocaust and paved the way for Elizabeth to return to her Jewish roots. In addition to the memoir with recipes, Ehrlich also writes about her experiences with becoming kosher "Must I live without real Parmesan?" and observant. I read this book awhile ago but what stuck in my mind is that as I was reading I could hear onions sizzling, smell chicken soup, taste honey cake and feel the warm stability that sustained Miriam and her husband through the Holocaust and that brings Jews with diverse backgrounds together in modern times. Reading Miriams Kitchen has changed the way I cook onions forever. Read the book to find out why. 920.5 EHR
On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz: 25 Years of Pre-Dawn Car Trips, Mind-Blowing Encounters, and Inspiring Conversations with a Man of Wisdom by Arthur Kurzweil
Want to get to know the modern translator of the Talmud and living legend -- Rabbi Steinsaltz? Maybe you could take over Arthur Kurzweil's volunteer job of picking Rabbi Steinsaltz up from their airport when he arrives in the U.S. from Israel at the crack of dawn several times per year and taking him to his various speaking engagements. What better way to get to know someone than when you're trapped together in a car. If you don't want to move to New York City and pick up Rabbi Steinsaltz in your car you could read this book which highlights some of the many conversations between Rabbi Steinsaltz and Arthur Kurzweil from 1980 - 2005. Neither Kurzweil or Steinsaltz were raised in religious households but both became Orthodox Jews as adults. Kurzweil discovered Judaism after being drawn to Eastern traditions many of us were drawn to in the 60's and 70's. Steinsaltz was raised in Israel by socialist parents who sent him to a Jewish teacher as a teenager not for spiritual reasons but because they didn't want their son to be an "ignoramus." In addition to translating the Talmud into English and travelling constantly, Rabbi Steinsaltz talks about his book on Jewish mysticism The Thirteen Petalled Rose. Kurzweil sees the connection to Ram Dass and various Eastern traditions in The Thirteen Petalled Rose. Rabbi Steinsaltz responds by basically saying, so what else is new? Of course there is a connection among all mystical traditions. Steinsaltz also points out that Jewish mysticism was not hidden among Sephardic Jews and it is traditionally hidden among Ashkenazi Jews which could be why we sometimes seek spirituality in other traditions. Perhaps Jewish mysticism is becoming less hidden lately and more of an everyday option, as it is for the Sephardic Jews, similar to yoga and meditation. The casual conversations between Arthur Kurzweil and Rabbi Steinsaltz make Judaism and Jewish mysticism seem accessible, connected to other spiritual traditions and part of our evolving everyday life.
The Soul of the Story: Meetings with Remarkable People by Rabbi David Zeller. Some of you may have seen Rabbi David Zeller when he was here as a visiting Rabbi last year. Sadly, he recently passed away at a young age. He seemed like a kind, wise and musically talented person who packed a lot of experience into his 60 years. His book takes you with him on his journey that includes real life experience with people who many of us baby boomers read about/idealized while growing up -- Carl Jung, Carlos Castaneda, Ram Dass, founders of transpersonal psychology, gurus and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. He lives for a time in India with spiritual masters who don’t believe in the pursuit of food and shelter. All of David Zeller’s experiences are on a path that bring him back to Judaism, family and living in Israel. If you don’t have time to read this book, then stop in the library and read pages 140-144 when a Shinto priest explains to David Zeller for what Jews are chosen. I’ll try to remember to have photo copies available.
