Sound the Shofar!: A Story for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - Hardcover

Kimmelman, Leslie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060275014 ISBN 13: 9780060275013

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

Synopsis

It's Rosh Hashanah, and the loving family of Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights and Hooray! It's Passover gets ready once again for another holiday. After a special dinner, the family goes to synagogue to hear Uncle Jake sound the shofar and bring in the New Year. Ten days later, it's Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. With simple text and glowing illustrations, this story captures the rituals and importance of the ten special days called the Days of Awe or the High Holy Days that Jewish people all around the world celebrate.

About this title

About the Authors

Leslie Kimmelman (she/her) is the author of more than fifty children's books, including The Eight Knights of Hanukkah, Eight Nights of Lights, The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah, and Write On, Irving Berlin!, which are all Sydney Taylor Notable Books, and the Sydney Taylor Honor Book Everybody Says Shalom. She lives in the New York City area, where she has hosted many lively seders, complete with mismatched chairs. Visit her at lesliekimmelman.com.

John Himmelman is the illustrator of Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights, and several other children's books, including the popular Buzby, an I Can Read Book by Julia Hoban. He lives in Killingworth, CT.

From the Back Cover

It's Rosh Hashanah, and the loving family of Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights and Hooray! It's Passover gets ready once again for another holiday. After a special dinner, the family goes to synagogue to hear Uncle Jake sound the shofar and bring in the New Year. Ten days later, it's Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. With simple text and glowing illustrations, this story captures the rituals and importance of the ten special days called the Days of Awe or the High Holy Days that Jewish people all around the world celebrate.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2-Readers join in as a family celebrates Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and, 10 days later, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Uncle Jake punctuates the holidays as he blows the shofar (ram's horn). In addition to the traditional observances, the family also partakes in the fairly recent custom of taking canned food for those less fortunate to the synagogue when they go for Yom Kippur prayers. The lighthearted illustrations show the joy of this season as the extended family gathers together; even the cats are included in the festivities. There is a woman cantor at the synagogue and most of the men do not wear prayer shawls, indicating that the family members are Reform Jews. A note at the end explains details about these holidays not covered in the text. A useful addition for libraries that serve Jewish populations.
Yapha Nussbaum Mason, Brentwood Lower School, Los Angeles
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The creators of Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights, hit a high note with this picture book about the traditions surrounding the Jewish High Holy Days, or Days of Awe. The house is abuzz with excitement as the relatives gather to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and then 10 days later, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. In this time of prayers, good food and good times, Uncle Jake plays a special role: he will blow the shofar, or ram's horn, during the service at the synagogue. Kimmelman includes a wealth of information about the tastes (challah and apples with honey), sights (the stained glass synagogue windows) and sounds (the shofar, the cantor and the rabbi) of the holiday season in her energetic text, making it highly accessible to very young children. Himmelman's cozy, lighthearted paintings feature an extended family?including a spunky litter of orange tabby cats?enjoying themselves and reaffirming their Jewish faith. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-6. The story is slight, and the text as easy to follow as the plot: With her uncle's blowing of the shofar (ram's horn) the high point, a little girl describes the goings-on during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Her mother lights the candles, her father blesses the wine, they eat apples dipped in honey, and they spend the day "in prayer and thinking." Using a bright rainbow of colors and outlining his shapes in ink, Himmelman depicts a happy family at home and in the synagogue. Warmth and renewal are the message here, delivered with minimal detail and a few comic touches, mostly involving the family's cats. An afterword by the author provides a bit of holiday background. A good additional purchase. Stephanie Zvirin

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060275014
• ISBN 13: 9780060275013
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Himmelman John
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32