Feed Your Kid's Body and Soul: High Holiday Books with Food Themes

By Jill Colella

A colleague and friend of mine who is a rabbi and an accomplished cook once likened the Jewish holiday dinner table to the bimah. Many of the components are the same— a raised surface, a gathering of people with a united purpose, and the sharing of (different forms) of sustenance with reverence and ritual. One way to experience Judaism is through its meals, especially those that happen during the fall harvest. For children especially, food is an accessible way of thinking about their wider worlds.

Basic food literacy is a critical foundation for building cooking skills, and appreciating the symbolism of food, like a beautifully braided round challah on the Rosh Hashanah table. As a writer of a Jewish cookbook for children, I was tasked with creating recipes that were basic enough for children to follow but meaningful enough for some deeper connection. This is why basic food literacy—the ability to identify ingredients—is incredibly important for children.

A few years ago during his TED Talk about the state of food for children, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver screened a clip from his television show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. He was in a school classroom of six year olds in Huntington, West Virginia and had brought along different fresh vegetables. The  kids were unsuccessful in identifying fresh tomatoes!  One would think that any elementary school aged child could easily identify such a common vegetable.  And while adults may be able to identify most vegetables, many are not exactly confident about how to cook them.

We can think of cooking like reading. When you think about the act of reading, it seems difficult—recognize letters and groups of letters as sounds, and then combine those into words, and then understand a string of words as sentences. Yet, we do it, and we ask kids to do it from an early age. Cooking can be the same, and can be discovered through reading. Some of my favorite Kar-Ben books develop reading literacy, food literacy and cultural literacy all at the same time, in the most charming ways.

Talia and the Very YUM Kippur and Talia and the Rude Vegetables are clever and funny books that play with words as the title character is helping with preparations for High Holiday meals.

 

 

 

 

Apple Days tells the story of Katy, who loves making applesauce with her mother. Her enthusiasm will inspire curiosity in any reader. TheApple Tree’s Discovery is another great title for reading during “apple days,” with its message that each of us is a unique individual. The book also reveals a very special feature about apples, which will prompt young eaters to observe the foods they eat more closely.

 

Maybe the very best example of food literacy materials for children is What’s the Buzz? Honey for a Sweet New Year. The book provides photos of a school trip to an apiary (bee farm) in Israel. Truly a farm-to-fork book, the story will help young readers understand where the honey on the Rosh Hashanah table comes from.

Jill Colella is editor of two magazines about food for children, for readers ages 6-12, Ingredient (www.ingredientmag.com) and for readers ages 3-6, Butternut (www.butternutmag.com). 

Apple Days: Behind the Scenes

We're so excited to announce our September Book of the Month, Apple Days: A Rosh Hashanah Story! Apple Days tells the story of Katy, whose favorite holiday is Rosh Hashanah, when she gets to pick apples and make applesauce with her mother. But what happens when the tradition is interrupted by the early arrival of her new baby cousin?

We love this book because it presents a situation to which every kid can relate - when family priorities must sometimes change - and Katy handles the change of plans both realistically and admirably. With a new twist on the traditional apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah, a community that comes together to lend a hand, and a sweet family tradition, there are an abundance of things to love about Apple Days!

Below, check out the book trailer and a guest post from the author, or head over to the Kar-Ben website for an Activity Guide or to get a copy of the book!

Watch the book trailer:

And read a guest post from author Allison Sarnoff Soffer!

 

"I want to share a bit about the story behind the story of Apple Days.

For years I’ve cherished a random collection of impressions about apples that have somehow felt connected.   As a child, I remember watching my father peel a Granny Smith apple with his Swiss army knife, removing one very long coil of light green skin. The gently spiced scent of my mother’s apple crisp baking for company also stays with me.  Later, when I became a parent, I savored my family’s experience of apple-picking at a local orchard and returning home to make applesauce for Rosh Hashanah.  Suggested by a friend, this outdoor respite from the busyness of September was to become an annual tradition.

I found myself jotting down apple ideas that I read or heard about.  A short essay about a child watching grown-up hands slicing apples evoked strong identification.  The image of a wedding tradition where guests presented apples to the bride’s parents also impressed me.   Then to my delight, I received an assignment to bring our favorite fruit to a family retreat to contribute to a community fruit salad. Of course, we brought apples!

When we broke into groups at the retreat, I had the chance to describe our family’s apple-picking tradition. I realized that I had never before articulated it.  There was more to understanding the meaning of our trips to the orchard, which grew out of a poignant need, I explained.  Because I lost my mother as a young woman, I had to find a way to be able to celebrate with my young children, to protect them from my sense of loss as the High Holy Days approached.  Getting outside, instead of preparing entirely in the kitchen, became my unexpected answer.  One group member was listening carefully: children’s author and rabbi Mindy Portnoy.   

At this point in my life, I was a new teacher at Temple Sinai Nursery School where I would eventually set the story. A significant development at school inspired the story’s turning point. A beloved teacher was ill and the community galvanized to help.  Children, watching their parents and teachers acting on their kindest instincts, wanted to join the effort. They initiated their own baking efforts culminating in a series of sales that raised almost $5,000 over several months.

I let my mind work on these varied impressions as I always do when I am deep in a writing process.  As Rabbi Portnoy and I met to discuss ideas, the arc of the story slowly came together. Of course, it was going to be a book about apples. Its premise would be the anticipation of our family’s beloved apple-picking ritual by a mother and a daughter. It would focus on disappointment overcome in an unexpected way, the power of community, and the competence of children. 

Apple Days took about a year to write, through two Rosh Hashanahs, and many revisions. When it was done, it felt more complete than anything that I had ever written.  To me, this story was crying out to be told, to get off of my computer screen and into the world. 

I hope that children will listen to Apple Days during a teachable moment with their parents or teachers, when they can pause and really hear it.  Perhaps it will inspire them to welcome the Jewish New Year at a local orchard or to try a new apple recipe.  Maybe Apple Days will spark an idea for a completely novel holiday tradition, or encourage a child to help a struggling friend.  You just never know what can happen.  This is my hope for Apple Days."

Can You Walk and Read at the Same Time?

An interesting blog post by Elizabeth Bluemle appeared in Publishers Weekly all about bringing children’s literature outdoors. In a variety of programs, one called StoryWalk, pages from books are made into outdoor installations along a walking trail. Two great activities for kids—reading and movement—are brought together in the outdoors’ fresh air and sunshine.

When I think of an outdoor story experience this time of year, I immediately think of Tashlich at Turtle Rock, a story about Annie and her family as they take a walk to Turtle Creek on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah. They will throw crumbs into the water as symbols of mistakes they made during the past year. As they hike through the woods, they think about the good and bad things that happened and make plans for the new year.  Allowing children to experience this story and to interact with its thoughtful questions in nature adds a dimension that would make a lasting impact on a young and formative mind. Imagine if this "story walk" ended at a tashlich?

Would you consider a project like this in your community?

StoryWalk has a very helpful FAQ on their website, with great information to get a program going in your community.

A Family's Tashlich Ritual as Told in a Picture Book

Shanah Tovah from Kar-Ben! We sat down with Susan Schnur, the co-author of Tashlich at Turtle Rock, a new book for Rosh Hashanah. She wrote the book with her daughter, Anna Schnur-Fishman, based on their own family's Tashlich ritual. We hope you enjoy the book and are inspired to add a nature walk to your Rosh Hashanah celebration!

Where did you get the inspiration for Tashlich at Turtle Rock?
It comes straight from the spiritual Jewish stuff that my husband and I and our two kids do at home. In fact, the names of the two kids in the book are just the real names of my kids -- Lincoln and Anna.

What are you most excited about promoting in your new book?
The idea that you can do cool Jewish stuff outdoors with your own family!

What is the most interesting thing you learned in the process of writing your book?
That it's really fun to write with another human being. I liked writing with my daughter when she was in a good mood, but, for some reason, I also really enjoyed writing with her when she was cranky. I think because I understood that her crankiness had something to do with those moments in the creative process when you're sure that everything you're putting on paper is wrong. It was also cool to write with someone whose literary voice you often trust more than your own.

How do you hope your book will impact the Jewish life of a child?
If a family starts having the confidence to create Jewish rituals of their own at home, out-of-doors, that's very hopeful for Judaism.

What was your favorite book when you were a child?
The Harold and the Purple Crayon series.

What’s your favorite line from a book?
The last lines from Charlotte's Web: "Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."

Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
For children's book authors, I love Daniel Pinkwater. For grownup book authors, I love Rilke. My fave children's book illustrator is N.C. Wyeth.

Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I've written since I was 6 years old. Though I went to seminary and then got a doctorate in psychology, in the heartiest part of my hearty-heart-heart, I have always been, and remain, a writer.

Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
To write children's literature, you should start by being a child.