Kar-Ben’s Brand New eBookstore!

We’ve recently unveiled our new eBookstore here at Kar-Ben Publishing. This is a great opportunity for us to enter new territory as a leader of the ever-evolving world of children’s literature.


If you have an iPad, check out our Kar-Ben eReader, with the adorable Sammy Spider on the application icon.


There are plenty of great reasons to try out eBooks for yourself and your children.

Portable-eBooks are weightless (except for your iPad or laptop). You can carry oodles and oodles of them and never feel a single back pain twinge. Instant entertainment.

Environmentally friendly-eBooks are paperless and therefore, are much friendlier to trees and the ozone as there are less manufacturing needs. There’s no need to ship eBooks, reducing the amount of vehicle pollution (your wallet is probably a lot happier on this point too). 

Storage space-Since all of your eBooks are located in one place, you no longer have to worry about how you’re going to fit in that extra bookcase. No more clutter as you try to stuff your paperbacks on top of each other. No more trying to dust bookcases and books.  Way more room for toys and dirty clothes to be thrown around! 

Easy to locate-It’s much harder to lose eBooks. A major plus if you’re slightly absent minded or have messy family members. They’ll always be exactly where you left them, unlike your car keys, and even be on the same page you were on.

Durable -eBooks won’t rip, tear, wrinkle, fade, or get dusty. The illustrations will always be vibrant. The binding won’t fall apart.  And my personal favorite, no more food stains! (There’s nothing better than curling up with your lunch and a book)

Teachable moments-eBooks are a great way to introduce children to the world of technology. Using the eBooks and eReader will help instill an intuitive sense for technology that will be essential for pretty much everything they’ll do in life: school, socializing, and work.

Create a free eBookstore account and read Feivel's Flying Horses eBook for free!  

Kar-Ben Books for Mother's Day!

Do your Mother's Day plans involve reading together? Here are a few titles to share this weekend!

A Grandma Like Yours

A whimsical collection of animal grandparents illustrate the characteristics of Jewish grandparents. Read about grandmas, bubbes and savtas!

Read together and then make up your own stories about your family!
 

Always an Olivia

An elderly black grandmother passes on the story of the family’s Jewish origins to her young granddaughter, Carol Olivia. As family members flee the Spanish Inquisition, are kidnapped by pirates and eventually sail to America, one daughter in each generation is given the name Olivia, from the Hebrew Shulamit meaning “peace,” to honor the Jewish part of their ancestry.

A Mother's Day visit is a perfect time to share your family history with young members of your family!

Sarah Laughs

At God's command, Abraham and Sarah leave their home and travel to Canaan with family and friends. But their joy is always dimmed by their wish for a child. God has promised that Abraham will be the father of a nation.

One day three strangers arrive at their tent. Sarah overhears them talking to Abraham, saying that she will soon be a mother.

"I'm too old," she laughs. But God doesn't forget promises…

In a year, a baby is born. She names him Isaac, which means “laughter,” and the world rejoices with her.

Preschool or Kindergarten Graduation Gifts: A Top 5 List

Now is the time when plans for graduation ceremonies are in full swing, even for young students. Do you remember donning a cap (maybe made of construction paper--get the directions for the adorable cap above) and getting a little certificate rolled up and tied with yarn (so as to resemble a diploma)? I do. In fact, I was seaching for something in the plastic storage box I use to hold “life archives” and came across my kindergarten “diploma” just the other day. Pretty remarkable, since kindergarten happened over thirty years ago for me!

Give your “graduating class” a diploma and a present to remember you by!  

5. It’s Tot Shabbat by Naomi Danis is about a group of preschoolers learning about Shabbat. If your nursery school has a Friday afternoon oneg Shabbat, then chances are your students would fit right into the book. Help establish a love for Shabbat and its rituals with this sweet little book. (Plan ahead and take a picture of your class at your next Friday afternoon celebration, get duplicates made and slip one into each book!)

4. My First Hebrew Word Book is a perfect send-off gift! With over 150 Hebrew words, with transliterations and translations, it can inspire bilingualism and foster a love of learning and a love for Israel, plus it is really fun! Did you know that “galgiliyot” is how to pronounce “roller skates”?

3. The Shabbat Box is a particularly good choice for kids who are going on to a Jewish day school. It's finally Ira's turn to take home the Shabbat Box from school, but a bad storm blows open his book bag and the box is lost. Kids can relate to the story, and they learn that a perceived calamity is just that!  

2. Hannah’s Way tells the story of a girl who is the only Jewish student in her class! When her teacher tries to arrange carpools for a Saturday picnic, Hannah is upset. Her family is observant, and she knows she cannot ride on the Sabbath. See how Hannah’s schoolmates solve the problem and make Hannah feel included.

1. Sammy Spider has had many firsts, but just like preschool students, he wonders what school is actually like. It’s Sammy’s lucky day when he hitches a ride to preschool in Josh’s backpack! The children are learning the Jewish principle of kindness to animals, but what will happen when they discover a scary spider in the classroom?

Who doesn’t love Sammy? A plush toy would make graduation day extra special!

Fundraising with Jewish Calendars

At home or at work, everybody uses calendars. Kar-Ben’s calendars are a perfect fundraiser for any Jewish organization, since each calendar includes Jewish and secular holidays and candle lighting times. Earn 20% of proceeds for your organization.

Choose your method for selling:

1.      Gather pre-orders from your group. Duplicate the order form and gather orders and payment (made payable to your organization). Kar-Ben will ship you the exact quantity you ordered and bill you for calendars, less a 20% discount for orders of more than 50 calendars. A designated person from your organization distributes calendars.

2.      Buy in bulk to sell at an event. Have an event coming up where you can sell calendars? Select calendars (a minimum total quantity of 50) to sell at your event and receive a 20% discount. Calendars are not refundable.

Fundraiser Ideas:

·         Great kick-off to a school year for fundraising

·         Perfect for synagogue men’s clubs or sisterhoods

·         Great for Jewish Day School fundraisers dedicated to special projects (raising funds for a class trip, Grade Government, community service projects)

·         Include order form in back-to-school information packets for Day schools and pre-schools

·         Sell calendars at back-to school night

·         Ask individuals or organizations to buy calendars to donate to elders in the community

·         Easy fundraiser for PTOs; ask parents to sponsor calendars to fulfill a school’s wishlist in addition to buying calendars

·         Easy fundraiser for schools that have policies against selling certain items like candy; no worries about kashrut, allergies or other issue

·         Set reasonable sales goals for each member of your group

Want to customize your calendars? We can provide quotes for custom printed calendars, so your group can include information, special date designations and even photographs. Contact us at 1-800-328-4929 for a customized quote. Great fundraiser or premium giveaway!

Kar-Ben Jewish Calendars – 5773

All calendars include secular and Jewish Holidays and candle lighting times.

Sammy Spider Jewish Calendar (5773)
978-0-7613-9145-6  $8.95
Colorful wall calendar featuring activities for children, 16 months (September 2012-December 2013)

My Very Own Jewish Calendar (5773)
978-0-7613-9122-7  $8.95Colorful wall calendar, 16 months (September 2012-December 2013)

Executive Jewish Calendar (5773)
978-0-7613-9125-8  $9.95
Month-at-a-glance engagement notebook,
17 months (August 2012-December 2013)

Jumbo Jewish Calendar (5773)
978-0-7613-9124-1  $12.95For desk or wall, 13 months (September 2012-September 2013)

Mini Jewish calendar (5773)
978-0-7613-9123-1  $1.95

Checkbook-sized, 13 months (September 2012-September 2013)

Want to customize your calendars? We can provide quotes for custom printed calendars, so your group can include information, special date designations and even photographs. Contact us at 1-800-328-4929 for a customized quote. Great fundraiser or premium giveaway!

Get to Know Heidi Smith Hyde

Get to know Heidi Smith Hyde, a Kar-Ben author whose books offer a slice of the Jewish experience in America. Favorites like Mendel's Accordion and Feivel's Flying Horses show the immigrant experience in America, as does Heidi's forthcoming (Fall 2012) book, Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue, a Hanukkah story about a boy in a new England whaling town.

We're not the only people who have recognized the historical value of Heidi's work. Recently, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History featured Feivel's Flying Horses as the centerpiece of an OurStory Program. Download the Reading Guide created by the Smithsonian's Education department.   

Kar-Ben: What was your favorite book when you were a child?  The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, 1958

Kar-Ben: Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Stefan Zweig
William Trevor

Kar-Ben: Why did you want to become an author?For me it was never a choice, but something I was compelled to do.

 Kar-Ben: Do you have any advice for future authors? 
Never compare yourself with other writers or try to emulate their style. Just find your own authentic voice and let your imagination do the rest.

Kar-Ben: Where did you get the inspiration for your upcoming Kar-Ben book, Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue?I was inspired by an article which once appeared in Hadassah magazine. The article told of the Jewish involvement in the New England whaling industry during the eighteenth century. I find it simply fascinating that our ancestors were involved in the whaling business.

Kar-Ben: What are you most excited about promoting in your new book?
I look forward to sharing this little known piece of history with children as well as their parents.

Kar-Ben: What is the most interesting thing you learned in the process of writing or illustrating your book?
I learned that at one time, Jews served as merchants in places like New Bedford, Massachusetts, providing sea captains with necessary provisions such as oilskins, waterproof boots and barrels.

Kar-Ben: How do you hope your book will impact the Jewish life of a child?
Through literature we delve into the Jewish past, connect with the Jewish present, and inform our ability to shape the Jewish future. It is my hope that our readers are given the tools to help them make these valuable connections.

Yom HaShoah

By Jennifer Bjork

This Thursday, the 27^th of Nisan, is Yom HaShoah. In English, this refers to Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day is set aside to remember the horrors of the past and the lessons that the past can teach the world.

Trying to explain the Holocaust to children is a daunting assignment. How does one explain to an innocent child that humans are capable of such disregard for human life?

I first learned about the Holocaust at Hebrew school in 5^th grade. The teachers made (what I feel) a wise choice in using Anne Frank and her diary to teach my fellow students and me about the Holocaust. Her young age made a bigger impact because she was someone I could relate to, a little girl with hopes and dreams like my own.

Reading her diary made the realization of what happened to her and her family a little less jarring but much more meaningful. I was able to follow the progression of the Nazis' power through Anne’s eyes, getting to know Anne as she recorded her experiences. Anne’s sense of humor and relatable worries lessened the blow for me when I realized that each diary entry was a baby step toward her death.

On the flip side, each page provided me toward a bigger lesson than I bargained for about human behavior and what it means to share a world with people who are different than I, and those who might not like me because of that difference.

The Holocaust is a heavy and emotionally draining subject, but it’s also a great opportunity to teach children about compassion and respect for others through history’s mistakes. It’s also a good opening to teach children about social responsibility and the different prejudices that still exist between cultures, ethnicities, and races.

 Every child will respond differently to the stories they hear about the Holocaust but there are plenty of methods available to suit different learning styles. The important thing is that they learn and remember.

Find teacher resources.
Find children's books about the Holocaust.

The People of the Book Are Now The People of the eBook!

You've known Kar-Ben as the leader in creating quality Jewish books for children. Our library has now gone digital!  We proudly announce the launch of Kar-Ben's eBookstore, featuring nearly 170 eBooks!

Now, anytime, anywhere, readers will have instant access to Kar-Ben eBooks, including fiction and nonfiction titles that highlight Jewish holidays, Bible tales, folktales, and life-cycle stories.

Kar-Ben's eBookstore offers complete online purchase capabilities. No log-in is needed to browse the eBook collection. Customers with a Kar-Ben eBookstore account may log-in and read previously purchased eBooks within the digital "My Bookshelf," which can be viewed by thumbnail cover images or more complete book details, and the digital bookshelf may be searched or filtered by category, age, or other common attributes.

Kar-Ben eBooks are available on browser-based devices and via the iPad® using the new Kar-Ben eReader App. The app is available free in the Apple App Store. Download the free eReader app here.