First, acknowledgments pages have the potential to project a—certainly innocent and obviously unintentional—self-congratulatory air. When I mentioned the topic of this post to Flying Pig staffer Kelly Dousevicz, she succinctly observed, “They often read like an award acceptance speech, without the award.”
Which makes me wonder. What’s the point?
So, what could be better than a children’s book? A children’s book in 
across a site that sells a bunch of famous children’s books in Hebrew. It had everything from Dr. Seuss to Curious George to Madeleine to Frog and Toad to Where the Wild Things Are to Goodnight Moon. The selection was awesome.
the same crazy passion for books that I have. And, I’m secretly a kid at heart, so children’s books really appeal to me. But, imagine how much you could learn from these books! What better way to learn some Hebrew than through your favorite stories. The dialogue is basic (it’s meant for kids), and since you know the story, you can get the gist of what’s being said.
Back in September, New York City played host to the illustrious Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. I didn’t blink an eye. (What do I know about Jimmy Choos? I’m more of a flip-flops girl…) This week, though, the book world descends upon the Big Apple. And I’m getting very excited!
- Hey! Over here! I’m not done yet… as I was saying, in an age where your average American no longer seems willing to sit still for long enough to read an actual book, it’s good to remind people that great literature didn’t end with The Great Gatsby. Great literature and powerful works of nonfiction are still being churned out every day, folks. The National Book Awards give us a moment to recognize that.
for someone like me, who works with social media and books everyday? My only disappointment is that it took me almost three years to discover this place. So, for all of you out there who have yet to stumble upon this site and hear about it from friends, allow me to invite you into the world of 
Well, it appears that even in grad school, that interest hasn’t abated. For one of my Judaic Studies classes, I’m supposed to write a review critiquing the methods of the authors of two scholarly works. I found it interesting (and one of my friends found it somewhat disturbing) that although I can choose any topic I like – biblical criticism, Hebrew literature, medieval Jewish history – I immediately decided that I wanted to write about Jews during wartime. I chose my first book immediately – 
Ellen Frankel, author of JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible
, is guest-blogging all week for MyJewishLearning and the Jewish Book Council.
For most of Jewish history, the Bible was “one size fits all.” There was simply no such thing as a children’s version.
The second-century rabbinic anthology Pirkei Avot counsels: “At five years old [one should begin the study of] Scripture” (5:24). For centuries, Jewish children were introduced to the Bible, unexpurgated and unabridged. In fact, Jewish children’s books did not emerge as a separate genre in America until the 1930s, with the publication of The Adventures of K’Ton Ton
So, do Jewish kids really need a children’s Bible? Or are we just imitating our Christian neighbors, who have been publishing and teaching children’s Bibles since the 11th century?
To read the entire post, visit the Jewish Book Council Blog!
