All-of-a-Kind Family, Hanukkah Based on the classic books by Sydney Taylor, written by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky Suggested ages: 4-8 years Emily Jenkins writes that she grew up with the All-of-a Kind Family series of books by Sydney Taylor (1904-1978), rereading them many times. These were the first books about Jewish children […]
November, our Thanksgiving month, is a time when we reflect on the many gifts for which we are grateful. The children’s books below focus on a few of these gifts. Because by Mo Willems, illustrated by Amber Ren Suggested ages: 3-7 years There is no doubt that the gift of music engenders a sense of […]
2019 Newbery Medal Winner (most outstanding contribution to children’s literature) Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina Suggested ages: 9-12 years A new school year holds fresh experiences and challenges for all young students. Merci is no exception. She tells her story with honesty and spunk, reflecting the typical emotions and observations of a 6th […]
Code Name: Lise by Larry Loftis Odette Sansom was “the most decorated woman of World War II—a member of the Order of the British Empire, a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, and the first woman awarded the George Cross, an award for “acts of the greatest heroism.” Loftis’s rigorously researched account of this incredibly courageous […]
Brain On Fire by Susannah Cahalan “Brain on Fire” is an enlightening story about Cahalan’s rare illness and her harrowing seven month long battle to regain her physical and mental health. She was initially misdiagnosed after suffering frightening bouts of catatonia, extreme paranoia, hallucinations and seizures, among other devastating behaviors. After being released from a month […]
Movie Time! Twenty-eight new videos have been added to the juvenile video collection. Additions include The Lion King, The Black Stallion, Balto, Tangled, Wall-E, Curious George and many more. Come in and see what’s available! You will find them in baskets marked “Children’s New Videos” School is now in full swing having started on August […]
The Lost Painting : The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Haar “The Taking of Christ”, a masterpiece painted by the controversial genius known as Caravaggio, an Italian Baroque artist, was assumed to be lost to the ages. It depicts Christ being brutally arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before Good […]
The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, illustrations by Ian Schoenherr Suggested ages: 10 – 12 years The Book of Boy is a skillfully crafted tale set in 1350 in France and Italy when thousands of Christians committed themselves to lengthy pilgrimages to the city of Rome. The bubonic plague had recently devastated the […]
The Last Palace : Europe’s Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House by Norman Eisen “The Last Palace” is the riveting story about a magnificent, historical palace built in Prague, in 1924 by Otto Petschek, a wealthy Jewish financier. Eisen, a former ambassador to the Czech Republic, masterfully chronicles the former residents and […]