Why is this Children's Book Different from All Other Children's Books?

by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, Kar-Ben author and guest blogger

Can you name the first Jewish children's book? My guess is that it's the Haggadah. It educates. It deals with four different types of children. It contains supernatural elements that wow the reader, and even includes some fun songs at the back of the book. It has all the ingredients of a best seller (which it is), but, yawn, it needs something to keep kids' attention until the very end.
 
What to do? Incorporate customs from Jewish communities across the globe into your Seder, plus create a few of your own and you'll have a page turner. 

Jews coming from Turkey, Iraq and Kurdistan jump start the Haggadah with a quick one-act play. It goes like this: While the Seder leader breaks the middle matzah in half, a designated participant leaves the table to dress up as one of the Children of Israel (home-made costume, of course). S/he knocks on the door, the Seder leader opens it and the play begins. “Who are you?” asks the Seder leader. Answer: “I'm one of the Children of Israel.” Next question: “But I thought you're a slave in Egypt.” Reply: “I was. Now I am free.” Question: “Where are you going?” Answer: “To Eretz Yisrael – The Land of Israel.”  “Welcome,” says the Seder leader. “Come sit at our table before you continue your journey.”
Everyone applauds, but the play doesn't have to end here. Remember the section dealing with the five rabbis staying up all night? How about writing a contemporary dialog that will be easy for kids to say?  Next act: The four sons. Don't be gender specific. Have a configuration of boys and girls dress up as the four different types of children, each explaining who s/he is. This leads nicely into a  home-made 10 plagues bag, which can then segue into a wonderful Persian custom – hitting your neighbor with the long hollow leaves of a scallion at each repetition of the word Dayenu. The reason behind this “madness”? To remind us of  the whips that hit our ancestors when they were slaves.

Aha! Now we're into props.  Here are two more suggestions. Decorate your seder table with gold and silver jewelry as a way of recalling the precious metals Egyptians gave the Israelites before the 10th plague. That's what Hungarian Jews do.  Next, forget about your gorgeous dining room set. Tunisian Jews use mattresses instead to create an authentic experience by “comfortably” sitting on the floor. Don't like that idea? Try what Jews in Casablanca do. Place a large ornamented chair with brocaded pillows next to the table for the Prophet Elijah.
Getting the picture? Like all good playwrights you decide how much drama your audience can take. The authors of the Haggadah have already supplied you with the cast of characters and the backdrop. Now it's your turn to get a handle on how to make it fun, relevant and compelling -- the reason why this children's book is different from all other children's books.


About author Tami Lehman-Wilzig
Born in the United States, Tami Lehman-Wilzig now lives in Israel. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and an M.A. in Communications from Boston University. She is one of Israel's leading English language copywriters. Her children's books include Tasty Bible Stories, Keeping the Promise, Passover Around the World, Hanukkah Around the World and Zvuvi’s Israel. She lives in Petach Tikvah, Israel.
Visit Tami's website.
Read Tami's Jewish Holiday Customs Blog
Read Zuvuvi's Blog (Zvuvi is the star of Tami's book Zvuvi's Israel.)

Get all kinds of great Passover ideas from Tami's book: Passover Around the World

Virtual Visit: Author and Students Meet in Cyberspace

Studying writing and literature is more fun when you get to meet real authors and learn about writing from them!

Language Arts students at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul recently met with Kar-Ben Publishing author Tami Lehman-Wilzig through a virtual author visit. The school used Skype and a SMART BOARD to connect with Tami, who lives in Israel. The 8-hour time gap didn't matter for this live visit.

Able to ask questions and interact via webcam, students chatted with Tami about her creative process, asking what inspired her to write many of her stories. They were surprised to find out how life experiences often play a role in creating fiction, and they enjoyed hearing Tami talk about how she is inspired by her Jewish heritage. 

Tami offers a variety of programs for schools on many of her books, including: Green Bible Stories for Children, Zvuvi's Israel, Keeping the Promise, and Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles. Learn more at her website.

Get more information about inviting a Kar-Ben author to your school or organization.

Trying to Eat Better in 2012? Eat Biblically!

Made a resolution to eat better? Get a side dish of Bible stories as you try new recipes from Tasty Bible Stories: A Menu of Tales and Matching Recipes by Tami Lehman-Wilzig. 

Here's a recipe from the book to get you started eating lots of veggies!

Spicy Cucumber and Garlic Salad

4 servings

Ingredients
3 large cucumbers, unpeeled
3 garlic cloves
1 small hot red pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Step-by-Step Preparation
1. Cut the cucumbers into small cubes. Place in a jar.
2. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Add them to the jar.
3. Cut open the hot pepper (you may want to wear gloves) and remove the seeds. Finely chop the pepper, and add to the jar.
4. Pour the oil into the jar. Cover and shake. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve cold.

Get a copy of the book.

Hanukkah Story Promotes Autism Awareness

Stories can be powerful, accessible ways for children to understand people different than themselves. Stories can also show that people share universal traits in common, like the desire to be happy, healthy and part of a family. Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles is a book that will connect readers with a young autistic character.
Kar-Ben author Tami Lehman-Wilzig lived for a year in Providence, where she met local PJ Library director, Nicole Katzman. Tami introduced Nicole to her books and Nicole, the mother of four young children (one of whom is autistic) and a fierce campaigner for autistic children's rights, told Tami about her determination to have a book on an autistic child written for the American Jewish community. It didn't take long for the two to pair up and develop Kar-Ben's new book Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles. Read the authors’ exchange about their story:

Nicole: Accepting the other in our midst is an important Jewish value. As a mother of an autistic child I didn't feel that acceptance. All too often I found the situation to be reverse and at times painful. I knew that in order to help children understand how to accept the other they needed a story to which they could relate.

Tami: I understood Nicole's feeling of urgency. One of my sons has special needs and I remembered how difficult it was for him as a child. In addition, there were autistic twins in our neighborhood while our sons were growing up, so I was already familiar with autistic behavior. For example, they would continually repeat the same question or statement, but we needed more than behavioral differences. We needed a peg around which we could develop a compelling story.

Nicole: At first I tried writing a story, but it didn't work. After reading it, Tami decided that she had to “interview” me. So I told her all about our son Nathan. She kept prodding me with questions. Finally, she said 'give me an example of something Nathan did that got you really upset.'

Tami: The minute Nicole related the incident of Nathan blowing out the Hanukkah candles the previous year, I knew we had the peg. It was perfect. Nathan's action was off the chart and Hanukkah was a wonderful setting. Creating a story around it with the right feel was the challenge. I wanted the story to be true – not too sugary, but not too tough. Finding the right balance was a challenge and it took several drafts, plus the help of “book doctor” Deborah Brodie to put me on the right track. It was Deborah who suggested that I tell the story from a sibling's vantage point.  The minute I did that, everything fell into place. Since I was already familiar with the repetitive nature of autistic children's conversations, I used that particular quirk to jump start the story. I consulted with Nicole throughout the entire writing process to make sure that Nathan's behavior was on track, as well as the reactions of siblings and kids.  

Nicole: It's exciting for me to have a book on an autistic child that is specifically my son. It's more than a dream come true. It's an opportunity to open people's eyes and minds. Too often they are misinformed about autism, insensitive in their comments and judgmental of both the child and his/her caregivers.

Tami: I am so pleased that Nicole inspired me to write this book. Both of us feel that Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles will make an important contribution to the Jewish community by being read aloud in the classroom or at home, and then used to open a conversation on how to love, respect and understand children who are different.

Nicole: Do you have a child with autism, or a friend or relative? If you have a story of your own please share it with us. Help us break down the barriers.

Please add your voice to Tami and Nicole’s initiative to create more understanding about autism.  Please post your own comments, story or insights about autism below.

Jews at the Zoo

When is the last time you visited a zoo? It’s a terrific place for stimulating curiosity and learning  since there’s so much to see. Maybe your kids love watching the lions, the orangutans or tropical fish (my  favorites are the prairie dogs).  When you think about it, a zoo is actually quite incredible, with its diversity of animals and the range of ecosystems we rarely encounter. In fact, the modern zoo is not completely unlike the biblical story of Noah and his animals! 

Author Tami Lehman-Wilzig challenges all of us to understand Bible stories through the lens of the natural world in her new book Green Bible Stories for Children, in which she presents eight Bible stories and provides kids with neat activities and experiments for them to try. In one story, she explores Noah and the Ark by introducing the idea of biodiversity.  She suggests visiting the zoo and asking the zookeeper:

·         Are different animals paired in the same habitats?

·         What and when do they eat? Do they graze on their own or are they given animal feed?

And she also suggests bringing along art supplies to sketch animals in an open habitat so children can notice animals, insects, birds, feeding spots, trees, shrubbery and more.  This is a great basis for talking to kids about how the Bible teaches us to respect the earth and all its inhabitants!

If you can’t get to the zoo, check out The National Zoo’s “virtual zoo” with cameras in the animals’ habitats. See the flamingo cam.  See the gorilla cam.  See the panda cam.

For Kurdistan Jews, Hanukkah is a Time to Reuse & Recycle

Author Tami Lehman-Wilzig was kind enough to share with us a Hanukkah tradition from Kurdistan. Tami writes about all kinds of multicultural Jewish holiday celebrations and customs at her blog. They are a great way to integrate new traidtions into your classroom or family. Thanks, Tami!

The three “Rs” – Reduce, Reuse & Recycle – have become today’s environmental mantra. As Westerners who really have it all, we never stop to think that there are Jews who don’t need the ecology cause to practice the “Reuse” principle. Take the Jews from Kurdistan and their charming, low budget way of shedding light on Hanukkah’s oil miracle. Kurdish Jews who could not afford a Hanukkiah used eggshells as cups for wicks and oil. There was no egg on anyone’s face because they didn’t have enough money. On the contrary. Eggs were eaten either for breakfast, lunch or dinner and the cracked egg shells were saved for lighting what I call the Eggnukia, every night. Tell your students to scramble home and try out this neat Hanukkiah alternative. Every which way, it gives the correct message – they’ll learn how to reuse and at the same time not take material goods for granted. If anything, maybe it will prompt them to start accumulating their own nest egg for next year’s Hanukkah presents.

For more Hanukkah customs, check out Tami's new book Hanukkah Around the World. Get a 20% discount on your order when you shop at karben.com and use the discount code TAMI when you check out. This offer is available until January 15, 2010.