All Kinds of Strong

Despite being small and frail, Sadie Rose is strong in other ways. She never forgets to check the chicken coops so the foxes can’t get in. She notices when the farm animals are sick. And she always has a new idea when it’s needed. Even so, her neighbors worry that she’s not strong enough for life on a farm. But when there’s a calamity and friends and family can no longer celebrate the Sabbath in their neighbor’s parlor, Sadie Rose comes up with an idea that proves that there are “all kinds of strong.” Set in a tight-knit community of Jewish immigrants and filled with eye-catching artwork and universal themes, this book imagines a story of the past that all families can enjoy.

Sharon Reiss Baker was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Maryland. After receiving her BA from Harvard University, she taught elementary and middle school in a variety of places, including Florida, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico. She speaks Spanish, French, and Hebrew; loves to travel; and studied in both France and Israel. Currently she is a high school administrator, and she and her husband, the parents of three children, live near Philadelphia. To research All Kinds of Strong, Sharon conducted oral histories with people who had grown up―or whose parents and grandparents had grown up―on Jewish-owned chicken and dairy farms in Eastern Connecticut. She also read documents at historical societies and consulted with Yiddishists at the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College. To learn more about Sharon, visit: www.sharonreissbaker.com.

Kris Wiltse has been creating illustrations for the publishing, editorial, and packaging industries for more than thirty years. She received her BA in painting from Western Washington University, Bellingham, and continued her studies in illustration at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, Washington. She presently resides on Whidbey Island in Washington State, where she illustrates, paints, and teaches art. To learn more about Kris, visit: www.kriswiltse.com.