The Library Shelf

Before you know it, it will be Shavuot.  If you are looking for a terrific book to understand the holiday, one that also tells a great story, then you will like, A MOUNTAIN OF BLINTZES, by Barbara Diamond Goldin.  Max and Sarah live in the Catskill Mountains in New York, in the 1920's, with their 5 children. They want to celebrate Shavuot with lots of blintzes, but have no extra money to buy the needed ingredients.  Sarah says: “’When Moses went to the top of the mountain to meet God and receive the Laws--such a meeting!  What a celebration we could have!  What a mountain of blintzes I could make!  If only there was a little extra to spare.’ Sarah could just picture a big plate of stuffed pancakes.”  This delightful book has colorful pictures of happy, hopeful children, Sarah and Max with their round cheeks, as well as bright scenes of their home and the town, as well as clear large text on each page. It is a treat to see the old fashioned kitchen with Sarah washing clothes with the scrub board and the backyard with clothing hanging on the line to dry.  The reader follows the family as they each work to get the necessary items to cook up the yummy mountain of blintzes (as well as getting a mountain of new shoes and clothing too.)

A terrific book for ANYTIME for older readers is, THE KINGFISHER TREASURY OF JEWISH STORIES, chosen by Adele Geras.  With 15 short stories, the reader will find a great variety of topics with Jewish themes, by a variety of authors such as:  Lynne Reid Banks, Marilyn Hirsh and Isaac Bashevis Singer.  Some of the questions answered include: What is a MENSCH?  Is that Elijah at the door, or is it the taxi driver? Can we get on the train and leave Momma for safety during the terrible war?  The stories are fast-paced, unique, educational and positive.  Every few pages have black & white illustrations and the reader will be excited to turn the pages and enjoy one story after another.

If you check your calendar, you'll see there is no religious school on May 13th and the last day of school will be May 20th – the end-of-year party....So, please start now to look through those piles of books and find Temple Israel library books to read and return.  See you in the library....Shalom...Ilene Raphael