Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Julia's Kitchen
by
Brenda A. Ferber (Goodreads Author)
Cara Segal is a born worrier. She figures her worrying works like a whisper in God’s ear – if Cara’s concerned about car crashes, kidnappings, or murders, she lets God know, and he always
spares her. But Cara never thought to worry about a fire. And one night while she’s sleeping at a friend’s house, her house catches fire, and her mother and younger sister are both killed....more
spares her. But Cara never thought to worry about a fire. And one night while she’s sleeping at a friend’s house, her house catches fire, and her mother and younger sister are both killed....more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
March 21st 2006
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
209)
i loved this book so much and i also no the author and she is so nice!
1 like · like · see review
view all 3 comments
Keep a box of kleenex next to you as you read this book. Cara is an eleven year old girl who loses her mother and sister in a house fire in the first pages of the story. Cara was staying overnight with a friend when the fire occurred. Her father survived the fire, but won't ever talk about what happened. The story takes the reader through the initial days of shock and denial and then the next few months as Cara tries to deal with her grief. Her father is so overcome with his own grief that he is...more
1 like · like · see review
I"m not sure how I missed this one when it first came out in 2006, but I'm glad that I finally found it. Cara is spending the night at her best friend's house when her own home catches on fire. Her mother and younger sister are killed. The house is destroyed, so Cara and her dad move into an apartment for the time being. Obviously Cara is distraught, and it's made worse by the fact that her father can't talk about that night. She needs to know exactly what happened, but what would help her begin...more
I don't think I realized this was about Jewish grieving when I picked up this book at ALA. When Cara loses her mother and sister in a fire, she thinks that God has abandoned her but as she moves through the grieving process, she discovers that God gives us the power to get through tough times. The most realistic scenes were Cara and her best friend who eventually fight over Cara's grief. Ultimately it snaps her back into the real world and she secretly starts operating her mother's home-based ba...more
Dec 29, 2009
Marcia
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
grades 4-6, sad, death
Shelves:
grades-4-6
This was a random grab off the new shelf at the public library and it was a treat. Cara was spending the night at a friend's house when a fire destroyed her home and took the life of her mother and sister. Now she is left wondering how her father survived and if her life will ever be the same. Through a wonderful best friend (and her friend's mother) a kind school counselor and baking cookies, she is on her way. It's sad, but the characters are real and the story compelling. It also ties in a go...more
Julias Kitchen by Brenda A. Ferber was really good but very sad at the same time. This book is about a young girl names Cara that is eleven years old and one night she sleeps out at her friends. The next morning they get a call and her dad tell her that her mom and sister died in a fire. The only one that survived the fire was her dad. They were very sad. Cara's mom use to bake all the time and Cara use to help her. When she died Cara took over her baking skills and she use to make all her goods...more
Mar 31, 2010
Megan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
I will recommend this
Recommended to Megan by:
I got it my kids school book fair
So far I'm hooked. I have definitely shed a few tears while reading this so grab your kleenex!
I finished this book and am a little surprised that this book is for young readers. The subject matter is a little intense. The main character is 11 and finds out her mother and sister die in a house fire. Her father manages to get out and she questions if God is real. Her faith and relationship with her father are tested. I loved learning all the details regarding what happens at a Jewish funeral! I wo...more
I finished this book and am a little surprised that this book is for young readers. The subject matter is a little intense. The main character is 11 and finds out her mother and sister die in a house fire. Her father manages to get out and she questions if God is real. Her faith and relationship with her father are tested. I loved learning all the details regarding what happens at a Jewish funeral! I wo...more
Audience: 4th, 5th and 6th graders, possibly 3rd graders who are on a advanced reading level.
Appeal: A wonderful story well written and that moves at a good pace to keep interest. The stpry deal with questions of why bad thibgs happen, but that a person can bounce back with the help of God and good friends. Written in first person style so any child or parent dealing with grief issues could relate.Great glossery at the end that explains many different jewish terms used in the story.
Awards: Sydn...more
Appeal: A wonderful story well written and that moves at a good pace to keep interest. The stpry deal with questions of why bad thibgs happen, but that a person can bounce back with the help of God and good friends. Written in first person style so any child or parent dealing with grief issues could relate.Great glossery at the end that explains many different jewish terms used in the story.
Awards: Sydn...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
BEST BOOK EVER!
Cara's mother has a baking buisness. Julia's Kitchen. Cara even named it. But when Cara's mother and sister die in a house fire while she was spending the night at her friend's house, all she has left is her father. He refuses to tell Cara what really happened on that night. Then, orders start pouring in. Cara decideds to secretly take over her mother's baking buisness all without letting her father know. Will Cara ever find out what really happened on the night?
Cara's mother has a baking buisness. Julia's Kitchen. Cara even named it. But when Cara's mother and sister die in a house fire while she was spending the night at her friend's house, all she has left is her father. He refuses to tell Cara what really happened on that night. Then, orders start pouring in. Cara decideds to secretly take over her mother's baking buisness all without letting her father know. Will Cara ever find out what really happened on the night?
An okay children's book but very graphic and tear-jerking death by fire of her family. The really good thing about the book (for which I suspect it was nominated for a Young Hoosier award) for children is the fascinating and well-described Jewish death and funeral rituals. The mourning of wife and child is memorable and well-written for adults -- but I think too much for children...at least too much for my 8-year-old for whom the vocabulary and style is within range.
I opened this book, and was pretty floored within the first few pages to realize that I was reading a book about a girl who's just lost both her mother and her sister in a horrible house fire. She "questions God, and his existence," according to the cover flap, which made me really hope that the book would rise above a discussion of faith.
At worst, it'd be a treacly read about redemption and belief. Brenda Ferber, though, handles the topic well, keeping it to a very real set of circumstances an...more
At worst, it'd be a treacly read about redemption and belief. Brenda Ferber, though, handles the topic well, keeping it to a very real set of circumstances an...more
An eleven year old girl looses her Mother and sister to a house fire while spending the night at a friend's house. The book is about her journey back into her life and how she and her father make peace with themselves and the tragedy.
A very sad book, obviously, but it deals with the serious issues in a sensitive way. Engaging and uplifting - although you at first feel very depressed :)
A very sad book, obviously, but it deals with the serious issues in a sensitive way. Engaging and uplifting - although you at first feel very depressed :)
I started to read this book simply because I had to bend down and pick it up after a child knocked it off of the shelf. It deals with the aftermath of a house fire that leaves a young Jewish girl without a mother and her eight year old sister. It talks a lot about the Jewish faith and grieving process. It was a very informative yet sad story. All in all, I really liked it.
Very cute book:) it was an easy read but very cute:) I liked the plot and the characters. It is very real book also. Like, the story is a very real thing. People or children going through a sudden tragedy and not knowing what to do with the pain. I loved it and it was very sweet.
Sweet story with sadness (there's lot of them these days). Cara's mother and sister died in a house fire - one that her father escaped. There's sadness and guilt, but it ends at a good place. As the title suggests, there's a fun cooking/baking element to the story.
Sweet, sad and just right for kids dealing with the loss of someone close to them. The characters in the story deal with grief in very different ways. The incorporation of Jewish cultural elements was seamless and informs kid who may know little about the Passover meal or sitting shiva.
My favorite book ever! I just read this and I thougt it was so good. Its an IOWA CHILDREN CHOICE AWARD BOOK for 2010 and I read it already but you will love it. Its not about baking really though.
EAD IT!!!!!!!!!!!
EAD IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Mar 09, 2009
Laura
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Laura by:
Elizabeth Bird
Shelves:
foodie-books-for-kids,
to-read-childrens-ya
This was a sweet read - a good recommendation for a 9-13 year old who has experienced loss. I'm torn as to whether it is a "foodie book for kids". On one hand, the way Cara heals through baking is really beautiful. But on the other hand, food is so not central to the plot.
But never mind that. It's a well-told, quiet, serious, lovely story - the perfect thing to read in the damp of spring.
But never mind that. It's a well-told, quiet, serious, lovely story - the perfect thing to read in the damp of spring.
FABULOUS!! I am adding this to my library! This is worth reading again and again. A great book about the human spirit, resilience, doubt and loss. I loved the spiritual wisdom of this young girl!
Mother & sister (?) are killed when house burns down and character pretends to be mother & take over catering business. REALLY good. As I remember. Unappreciated.
this book was sooo good ive read it like 5 times. its a little bit short and really sad in some parts. its one of my favorites ♥
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book is amazing!!!!!!!!
If you like sad and heartfelt books you should deffenitly
Read it.
If you like sad and heartfelt books you should deffenitly
Read it.
Brenda Ferber will be our visiting author next year. Great book! Enjoyed it very much!
May 13, 2011
Bailey
added it
I loved all the feeling put into this book!! READ THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE SADER BOOKS!!!
It was so heat warming and exciting if you want to know more read it yourself.
I like this one best so far from this year's Iowa Children's Choice List.
Good for children who are grieving. Too much God talk for me.
this book was rlly good go read it!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
