Why Jump to Sorry?
Posted by Amy Novit on 8/10/2023 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
MTV debuted its reality series “The Real World” in 1992. Young adult strangers lived together in an apartment and were followed by cameras to capture what drama might ensue. In one of the first episodes, a young man asked his roommates to do him
What Looks Like Bupkes May Simply Mean You Aren’t Looking Hard Enough
Posted by Leslie Kimmelman on 7/12/2023 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
The folks at Kar-Ben asked if I’d be willing to write a blog about my new book, A Book About Bupkes. (*Nothing.) I gladly agreed. Let me say that I think the book is lots of fun, with an essential message about the small acts of kindness that
Writing While Walking...or Riding a Donkey?
Posted by Susan Tarcov on 4/10/2023 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
In my experience the hardest part of writing a story isn’t the actual writing of it—finding all the right words—but finding the right shape for it: the right beginning, the right middle, and the right end. For this hardest part I’m usually not
Kindness to Animals: Moses and the Runaway Lamb
Posted by Jacqueline Jules on 3/20/2023 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
Children have a natural fondness for animals. The simple sight of a waddling duck at a pond can elicit hand-clapping glee in a preschooler. Puppies are much more than pets, they are treasured childhood friends. Children find comfort in loving
Recalling My Childhood: My Name is Hamburger
Posted by Jacqueline Jules on 10/6/2022 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
As the author of over fifty children’s books, I have written about the US Constitution, a gigantic mythical bird, Pluto’s demotion, Rabbi Akiva, goblins, a boy with magic sneakers, and an eclectic mix of other topics. But until My Name is
Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue
Posted by Kar-Ben Team on 12/8/2021 to
Jewish Values
Tzedek, tzedek tirdof.
The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg brought the biblical phrase back into modern parlance, but the pursuit of justice has always been fundamental to what it means to be Jewish. Justice is a work in progress that we should never assume is complete. ...
Healing the World with Two Simple Words
Posted by Kar-Ben Team on 9/15/2021 to
High Holidays
A child first learning to apologize, will typically hang their head low in shame, avoiding eye contact. The words “I’m sorry” will be soft and meek. Apologizing is publically admitting to doing something wrong and causing suffering to others. The point of apologizing is to acknowledge where we have gone wrong so that we may do better going forward. Being forgiven is just the icing on the cake....
Happy Mother’s Day (And Don’t Forget To Call!)
Posted by Anna Burnstein Gilette on 5/6/2021 to
Jewish Values
The “Jewish mother” is a cultural icon. Her overbearing love
and constant fretting over her children are staples of late-night comedy. If
the Jewish mother stereotype tells the story of Jewish assimilation in America,
it casts women as secondary
We Shall Overcome in Hebrew is Anu Nitgaber
Posted by Anna Burnstein Gilette on 4/22/2021 to
Jewish Values
At the end of the 19th century, just two generations away from
slavery, a girl blessed with a talent for singing was born in Philadelphia. Her
name was Marian Anderson and she was musically gifted, but she was Black. Time
and time again she had
The Most Famous Jewish Philanthropist You Never Heard Of
Posted by Anna Burnstein Gilette on 1/14/2021 to
Jewish Values
Does the name Judah Touro sound familiar? If your answer is
no, you are in good company. Judah Touro was the greatest Jewish-American
philanthropist of the 1800s, having donated huge sums of money to hospitals,
orphanages, schools, churches and