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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

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

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

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

Today’s blog post is by Ben Gown, producer of the family-friendly musical puppet show, The Girl and the Water Carrier , based on the Kar-Ben book,  The Wedding That Saved A Town . Welcome, Ben!    As the producer of the

We often talk about God as a writer and ourselves as characters in a great ongoing story. This is particularly true during the High Holidays when we pray to be inscribed in the Book of Life. Holy books are sacrosanct for Jews. When no longer

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

On Rosh Hashanah, it is a mitzvah to hear the blowing of the shofar. To fulfill the mitzvah, one must truly hear the shofar. An echo doesn’t count, and neither does a recording. It is a climactic moment in the cycle of the Jewish year. But

Before there was a set calendar for the Jewish year, the beginning of a new month would be declared by the Jewish court when the new moon emerged in the sky. To let the people know, fires would be set on hilltops.   Today, as in

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