Adventures in Mama-Land

If, as Jewish parents, we care so much about sharing Judaism with our kids, why aren’t we doing it through the books we read them??? Only slightly frustrated by a flood of Chanukah books coming at me from all sides, I decided to go to my friendly local online library (in Toronto) and search for various keywords of Jewish life, just to rank which categories were most important to us, as parents and readers, based on how many kids’ books turned up in each category. So it turns out we’re telling our kids a whole lot – about Hanukkah and the Holocaust. And not much else. I want to point out up front that this search was never

Are your kids bored with typical Jewish children’s books?? I know mine were! That’s actually one of the main reasons I started writing books for Jewish kids.  I was sick of stories that simply repeat the basics:  “It’s Rosh Hashanah, we dip an apple.”  “It’s Sukkos, we sit in the sukkah.”  “It’s Chanukah, we light the menorah.”  I was bored to death of these, and so were my kids, by the time they were two years old or so.  Plus – kids love to read about animals.  I really believe that animals can give us a lot of insight into ourselves and the things we do. That’s how I got the idea for my first animal book – Penguin Rosh Hashanah .  I was sitting on a train wondering what to write for Rosh Hashanah, and I suddenly had the random thought, “Penguins.”  Why penguins?  Penguins, or any animal, really, are the exact opposite of Rosh Hashanah.  And I love it.  Loved the idea of finding connections and creating a very loose, light story which davka (specifically) didn’t tell kids what Rosh H

That Purim was bitterly cold. I was newly divorced with two babies, scared and lonely and tired. I probably wasn't thinking straight, but all I knew was I couldn't afford a babysitter for the night-time megillah reading. So I hauled the kids along, to a friend's shul, basically a tiny storefront deal. The women's and men's sides were separated by a wall with just a few tiny windows for sound. I also noticed that mine were the only small children there. Once the laining began, we crowded in, straining to read along with every single word. There were graggers, but they had to stay silent for the first two chapters. My son, then two, was holding his, but out of boredom, he’d begun turning it around. Click…click… No big deal; we could still hear the megillah. But after a couple of minutes, the woman beside me started shushing. I didn't know what to do. If I took away the gragger, he'd start screaming and really disturb things. Click…click… I felt everybody

The limes are for tomorrow night’s Lahm Pah (aka lime pie , but you have to say it with a southern accent!). We’re supposed to be eating at my mother’s after the fast, and I know for a fact that she invited at least one of my sisters, but when I spoke to her today, she sounded a little mystified that we might want food.  And not just a little food; I figure we’ll probably want a lot of food! She said she had a couple of packages of blintzes and some bread in the freezer.  I suggested gently that we might need a bit more.  So I bought Dempster’s bread and some extra blintzes.  She’s providing tomato soup. As for tonight – we’re eating alone, as usual: Challah Shabbos Soup w/peas Chicken w/marmalade Sesame Green Beans from Shabbos Corn from Shabbos (or fresh) Potato/Broc Kugel