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Friday March 30, 2007

When in doubt, kids’ volumes can provide answers

by liz harris
staff writer

Parenting is a mixed blessing, isn’t it? When our children are young, they think we have all the answers — and of course, we don’t. And when they’re older, they think we know nothing — even though we’d love for them to consider our words of wisdom.

In the former case, books can be a great help.

Let’s begin with “Ten Good Rules: A Counting Book.” Forget “thou shalt” — this takes the Ten Commandments and boils them down to the basics.

Author Susan Remick Topek offers language and concepts very young children can relate to and easily understand. Like: “Do not say bad words.” “Do not lie.” “Love your mother and father.” She puts the precepts into context by first

providing a one-page introduction explaining that when the Jews left Egypt, Moses led them to the desert, climbed a mountain and spoke to God, who provided the rules so people “could live happily together.”

Photographer Ted Cohen’s pictures are wonderful: A girl covering her mouth (her sheepish expression a giveaway that she’s uttered something she regrets). Two boys wrapped in their parents’ arms. Two children tugging on a toy.

Doubling as a counting book, with numbers (and little fingers) prominently displayed along with each commandment, “Ten Good Rules” packs a sizable punch for the thin paperback it is.

Another helpful kids’ book also blessed with sweet photos is “What Makes Someone a Jew?” While this may not be a question your child asks, the book also addresses broader issues, such as the reality that a Jew can be Asian, black or brown, that there are many ways to observe and express Judaism, and that no one is perfect.

The overriding theme — expressed in many ways — is diversity within Judaism, including how people look and observe their religion. “Just be the best person you can be,” it says. “If you’re thoughtful, nice and honest you are living Jewishly.”

Author Lauren Seidman’s book is nonjudgmental, and ideal for 3 to 6-year-olds.

Another book that deals positively with diversity is “Rebecca’s Journey Home,” which fictionalizes author Brynn Olenberg Sugarman’s experience adopting a Vietnamese baby.

Like the Stein family in “Rebecca’s Journey Home,” Sugarman and her husband, Dov, had to prepare their two young sons for the addition of a little sister who not only would be coming from far across the Pacific, but would look very different from the rest of the family.

The author, an early childhood educator, does a good job on a few levels. She artfully weaves serious issues the Stein family faces — from preparing the boys for their new sibling to integrating the child’s undeniable ethnicity into her new religious identity.

So when 4-year-old Gabe announces, “Soon Baby Rebecca won’t be Vietnamese anymore. She’ll be Jewish,” his 8-year-old brother, Jacob, corrects him, saying, “No! She’ll be Vietnamese and Jewish.”

Their mom explains that Rebecca will not only learn about her Vietnam homeland and become part of the Jewish people, she will also be an American.

The telling of Le Thi Hong’s transition to Rebecca Rose Stein — from before her arrival in the United States to her formal religious conversion to her entering the mikvah before her first birthday — is warm and fuzzy, enhanced with sweet, colorful illustrations.

Bold color is also a strongpoint in “The Kids’ Fun Book of Jewish Time,” an activity book with pull tabs, turn wheels, lift-up flaps and bold colors, which should boost its appeal to its intended audience of 3- to 6-year-olds.

It’s definitely oriented toward those who want to teach their children the Hebrew calendar, Hebrew months, Hebrew numbers and weekly cycle of Shabbat and Havdallah.

The narrative is in English, but it is accompanied by lots of Hebrew words and transliteration. The entire Hebrew alphabet, with vowels and their pronunciation, appears at the back of the book.

“Jewish Time,” by author/illustrator Emily Sper, is promoted as a “novelty” book that will engage young readers and educate older readers about the Jewish calendar.

And finally, there’s “Bubbie’s Baby.” Elaine Serling’s sliver-thin rhyme book comes with a catchy CD all about one and the same: Literally a song singing the praises of Serling’s granddaughter Alexis. This is Serling’s third book/CD set, though it seems rather amateurish.

“Bubbie’s Baby” by Elaine Serling (22 pages, Danza Publications, $14.99 book and CD).

“Rebecca’s Journey Home” by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman (30 pages, Kar-Ben Publishing, $17.95).

“Ten Good Rules: A Counting Book” by Susan Remick Topek (22 pages, Kar-Ben Publishing, $15.95)

“The Kids’ Fun Book of Jewish Time” by Emily Sper (22 pages, Jewish Lights Publishing, $16.99).

“What Makes Someone a Jew?” by Lauren Seidman (32 pages, Jewish Lights Publishing, $8.99).

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