We here at Kar-Ben are incredibly excited for our Spring 2014 titles. We have great new stories for all occasions, from Tu B'Shevat to Passover, from bagel-making to recycling. Here's a sneak peak at what 2014 will offer:
For Tu B'Shevat
A little girl and her plant grow up together, sharing many a Tu B'Shevat.
On Tu
B’Sheva, little Netta, who lives in Israel, brings a plant home from preschool.
She loves it. Netta grows and the plant grows, until it is time for both of
them to find new homes and new friends. Netta and Her Plant tells the story
of the changes Netta encounters as she grows up, getting taller getting a new baby sister,
and preparing for her first day of kindergarten at her new school, each stage
of her life mirrored by her growing plant.
For Passover
The littlest Levine finally gets her chance to shine!
Hannah hates being the littlest Levine. She can’t ride the
school bus like her sister and brother. During Sukkot, she needs help hanging
her decorations in the Sukkah, and on Hanukkah she’s not allowed to light
candles by herself. “Be patient,” her grandpa tells her, “soon you’ll be proud
to be the littlest Levine.” Every evening in the weeks before Passover, she
studies with her grandpa, and when the seder comes, it’s finally Hannah’s turn
to shine!
Rabbi Jamie leads a unique seder in the desert of Moab, Utah.
Seder in the Desert invites you to join a group of
families as they follow Rabbi Jamie into Moav, Utah to celebrate a most unusual
Passover seder in the desert. As they hike through the sandstone and red rock
desert, they learn important lessons about the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt,
such as the importance of helping one another.
Together, the community hikes, learns, laughs, sings,
debates, and enjoys the delicious Passover seder meal. The
story is accompanied by photos of the celebration as well as stunning desert
scenery by award-winning photographer Jeff Finkelstein.
For Yom HaShoah
A young girl helps accomplish an astonishing rescue in Nazi-occupied Denmark.
In The Whispering Town it is 1943 in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Anett
and her parents are hiding a Jewish woman and her son, Carl, in their cellar
until a fishing boat can take them across the sound to safety in neutral
Sweden. With the help of the baker, the librarian, the farmer, and her
neighbors, Anett keeps Carl and his mother safe even as Nazi soldiers search
her street for hidden Jews. With the Nazis closing in, and worried about Carl’s
safety, Anett thinks of a clever and unusual plan to get Carl and his mother
safely to the harbor on a cloudy night without the moon to guide them. Based on a true story.
For Lag Ba'Omer
Sadie and Ori solve the mystery of Lag Ba'Omer!
“What is Lag Ba’Omer?” Sadie and Ori
ask their grandfather in Sadie’s Lag Ba’Omer Mystery. He
sends them off on a mission to solve the puzzle. After checking calendars and
books and asking many different “holiday experts,” including the mailman, Aunt
Katy, Uncle Danny, and their Grandmother, they learn the surprising history and
tradition behind this less well- known Jewish holiday and invite their friends
and family to a Lag Ba’Omer celebration!
Great Reads for Any Time of Year!
A Jewish boy with Native American roots celebrates his dual heritage on the Western frontier.
“Always remember, you are the son of two proud nations,” Elan’s parents
tell him in Elan, Son of Two Peoples. After turning 13 and celebrating his
Bar Mitzvah in San Francisco, Elan, with his Jewish father and Native American
mother, travels to New Mexico to visit his Indian family. There, he reads the
Torah on the open mesa during Shabbat, goes exploring with his cousin, and
takes part in the Pueblo ceremony of becoming a man. Based on a true story.
A Torah scribe and his family rescue damaged Torahs in a story spanning four generations.
As a child,
David watches his grandfather, a Torah scribe or sofer, finish a Torah scroll for the synagogue. “A Torah is not
something to be thrown away,” his Grandfather explains in The Patchwork Torah.
David’s grandfather carefully stores the
old Torah his new one has replaced in his cabinet, hoping to one day repair the
letters so the Torah can be used again. David grows
up and becomes a sofer just like his
grandfather. Through the years, people bring him damaged Torahs they have saved
from danger and disaster – one damaged by Nazi soldiers during World War II, one
damaged in a fire in a synagogue, and one in flooding during Hurricane Katrina.
David stores each of these precious Torahs in his cabinet, until his
granddaughter Leah gives him the idea to make a recycled Torah from the
salvaged Torah scrolls.
An inventive little boy comes up with a big idea!
In Ziggy’s Big Idea Ziggy loves coming up with new inventions. Unfortunately,
though, most of his inventions just don’t work out, like the square “Ziggyball” or the “shulstilts” he
makes for Rabbi Levi. Ziggy’s father sells buns for
Moishe the Baker, but Mrs. Schwartz always complains that the buns are
undercooked at the center. That’s when Ziggy puts his creative mind to work,
with his idea for making the baker’s
buns tastier and easier to carry, leading to the creation of one of the
world’s favorite treats – the bagel!
Bagel recipe included.
Beginning in January, you can find these new titles at www.karben.com!
Seder in the Desert invites you to join a group of
families as they follow Rabbi Jamie into Moav, Utah to celebrate a most unusual
Passover seder in the desert. As they hike through the sandstone and red rock
desert, they learn important lessons about the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt,
such as the importance of helping one another. Together, the community hikes, learns, laughs, sings,
debates, and enjoys the delicious Passover seder meal. The
story is accompanied by photos of the celebration as well as stunning desert
scenery by award-winning photographer Jeff Finkelstein.
