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
Noa Nimrodi's Inspiration Behind Not So Shy
Posted by Noa Nimrodi on 3/6/2023 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
I began writing Not So Shy in the midst of a bad flu about a decade ago. Blurred thoughts caused by a high fever threw me back in time to the day we left Israel a few years earlier. My twelve-year-old daughter Shai (yes, I stole her name for
A Compassionate Spin on a Hanukkah Tale: The Story Behind Writing Tizzy the Dizzy Dreidel
Posted by Allison & Wayne Marks on 11/7/2022 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
When we sat down to write our first Hanukkah picture book, we began with a question: How would you feel if you were a dreidel who always got passed over during the holiday fun? Tizzy —a hopeful but balance-impaired dreidel—anticipates
My Iraqi Jewish Bangle
Posted by Sarah Sassoon on 11/3/2022 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
I love to wear my grandmother’s bangle because it identifies me as Iraqi. People stop me to ask, “Are you Iraqi? My mother, my grandmother had a bangle exactly like that.” And they join me in remembering where we come from.
I always
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
Behind the Scenes of The Button Box
Posted by on 7/14/2022 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
Co-authors of The Button Box , Bridget Hodder and Fawzia Gilani-Williams, discuss their hopes for their new middle-grade novel about cousins, one Jewish and one Muslim, who travel back in time to ancient Morocco. Where did you get the
Behind the Bookcase: A brief history of Miep Gies
Posted by Barbara Lowell on 9/1/2020 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
Miep
Gies risked her life to keep a secret. Behind the bookcase in her office,
stairs led to a hiding place where Anne Frank and her family hid from the
Nazis. Once a refugee herself, Miep knew the power of kindness. Her
selflessness,
Meet Jessica Hickman, Author of her Debut Children’s Book "Alligator Seder"
Posted by on 1/9/2020 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
This week we have been celebrating the release of Jessica Hickman's title Alligator Seder. This cute little board book is her debut book in the world of children's literature. Read through our interview with the debut author and learn about her process and why she thought alligators have Seders!
New Beginnings in Fall - Fresh New Books from Kar-Ben
Posted by Kar-Ben editor on 9/4/2019 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
September always feels like a new beginning—the start of the school year, the launch of a new book season, and the start of the Jewish New Year. All three converge at Kar-Ben Publishing, an imprint of Lerner Publishing, proudly the largest publisher of exclusively Jewish-themed children’s books in the world!
Just as the new year (which happens to be 5780) begins on Rosh Hashanah, Kar-Ben’s new book season kicks off with a Rosh Hashanah board book featuring an old friend. In Shanah Tovah,Grover!, Grover and his Sesame Street friends prepare for the holiday and wish each other “Shanah Tovah” (Hebrew for “a good year”)!
Compelling Story of Modern Exodus Shared In Israel
Posted by Kar-Ben Editors on 1/9/2019 to
Meet a Kar-Ben Author
This is a story of radical hope. Yuvi’s Candy Tree (Kar-Ben Books 2011) is a children’s picture book written by Canadian writer Lesley Simpson. The book was inspired by Yuvi Tashome, who as a five year old girl, outwitted robbers in her exodus from Ethiopia to a Sudanese refugee camp. The book grew out of an interview Simpson, a Canadian journalist and children’s book writer (lesleysimpson.ca) requested with Yuvi Tashome when she was in North America in 2009, raising awareness and money for the NGO she founded in Israel called Friends by Nature. When Simpson heard Tashome describe her Biblical-like exodus, it felt to her as if the Haggadah was coming alive before her eyes. She imagined a picture book and then wrote Yuvi’s Candy Tree.