Archive for December, 2008

Fancy Aunt Jess by Amy Hest

December 10, 2008 at 5:14 pm · Filed under picture books (ages 4-6) ·Tagged , , ,

Fancy Aunt Jess

Fancy Aunt Jess

While writing my post about Amy Schwartz and thinking about my favorites among her books, one book that deserved a post all on its own is Fancy Aunt Jess, written by Amy Hest (of The Friday Nights of Nana fame) and illustrated by Amy Schwartz.

I adore this book. I adore how quiet it is and how sweet it is. I love the portrayal of Becky and her affection for her Aunt Jess, who she thinks of as Fancy Aunt Jess. I love that it’s a bit of a romantic book — because ultimately it concerns the fact that Aunt Jess won’t get married until she meets someone who gives her goosebumps — but it’s not over the top and embarrassing. It’s a bit of a girl book but both my boys sat through it (my oldest is already thinking about who he’s going to marry — at 5 — so he had a vested interest in figuring out how the whole marriage thing works).

But most of all, I love the fact that it turns out the characters are Jewish, which you might not have expected. It turns out that when Becky sleeps over at Aunt Jess’ house, one of the things they do is go to (a clearly Reform) shul on Shabbat. And that in fact, that’s where Aunt Jess meets Harry (uncle to a Becky-like girl Nicole). And I love the fact that the last page of the book features the two getting married — cute and romantic but not Disney — under a chuppah. Just like it’s normal for a chuppah to be the last page of a book. The characters being Jewish is really no big deal to them, it’s not a big part of the story, it’s a character in the story, a detail.

“Mama, they’re Jewish!” my 5-year old yelped when we got to the part where they go to shul. “Just like we’re Jewish.” He sees Jewish people in books all the time, but they are always Jewish books. This one just slipped it in and that made all the difference.

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Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks by Amy Schwartz

December 5, 2008 at 12:54 pm · Filed under picture books (ages 4-6) ·Tagged , ,

Since it’s Friday and I’m thinking ahead to Shabbat, I thought I’d blog about one of my favorite Shabbat books — Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks by Amy Schwartz.
Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks

Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks

Moskowitz (as my children like to call the book), is one of the first books published by the incredibly talented writer/ illustrator, Amy Schwartz, who is responsible for some of my favorite mainstream books — like Bea and Mr. Jones, Annabelle Swift, Kindergartener,  and A Glorious Day, to name a few. In this book, Schwartz creates a very special kind of Shabbat book — one that is perfect for families of all denominations and beliefs — no mean feat to be sure. Moskowitz is the story of an older woman who has moved from her family home where she raised her children into an apartment. “This apartment will never be a home,” she says at the beginning of the story.

However, something almost magical seems to happen when her son Sam brings her a box in her old house, a box that contains her old Shabbat candlesticks. She puts them on the table and when she wakes up the next morning, she sees how tarnished they are in the sunlight. So she buys some polish for them. Once they are polished, they look so beautiful that she can’t help but feel badly that they are sitting on such a plain table, so she finds a tablecloth. And on, and on. While the candles don’t do anything special, by the end of the week, her apartment has been completely unpacked and turned into a home — and she’s decided to invite the family over to have a nice Shabbat dinner. 

It’s a lovely story — perfect for discussing the loneliness that older adults can feel, for playing games with your children that involve having them clean things (!). It’s a great book for sharing with grandparents (in my experience, a lot of parents and grandparents tear up during the story). It’s just plain lovely.

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Bigger, Better, Best! by Stuart J. Murphy

December 2, 2008 at 2:35 pm · Filed under picture books (ages 4-6), picture books for older kids (7-10) ·Tagged , ,

It is sometimes incredibly frustrating how much my sons learn from TV. It’s not suppose to be like that. TV is suppose to turn their brains to mush (according to my dad), not teach them about science (thanks Magic School Bus), music (surprisingly, Backyardiggans), enrich their vocabulary (Martha Speaks) and virtually teach them to read (Word World). And no, they don’t watch that much TV, they just watch many different PBS programs…. oh well. The other day, my 5 year old told me that we shouldn’t watch too much TV because it ruins your powers to think (we were having a sick-kids-means-movies day). “That’s right!” I said, feeling proud that TV hadn’t totally rotted his brain. “Where did you hear that?” I asked. “From Sid the Science Kid,” he said nonchalantly. Stupid PBS. 

Bigger, Better, Best!

Bigger, Better, Best!

Anyway, my kids do learn a lot from books, but the science and match stuff is sometimes hard to get from a book, unless it’s the Magic School Bus. But one book that has really taught my son a lot about math is Bigger, Better, Best! by Stuart J. Murphy, part of his Math Start series. While math stories might have you thinking about two trains heading toward each other at different speeds, this story is actually quite good and applicable to children. Jeff and Jenny are always arguing about whose stuff is better. When they move to their new house, they want to know who has the bigger window, whose room is larger, etc. etc. With the aid of paper sheets, they set out to figure out the surface area of their two different shaped windows and rooms. Figuring out the surface area works nicely into the story and doesn’t turn the book into one of those didactic stories no child wants to read again. Besides, with bickering siblings, kids can relate.

By the way, Jill, the youngest, is clear that her room is best because while it’s the smallest, it’s the farthest from her bickering siblings. So you get math and values. Who said math had to be dull?

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