Jewish Holidays All Year Round: A Family Treasury

by Ilene Cooper

For Jewish people every year is punctuated by special days when families rejoice in a rich heritage, recall history, renew the spirit and remember what it means to be Jewish. This illustrated book introduces the richness of the Jewish tradition and the holy days that accompany all of the major Jewish festivals. It allows young readers to explore the true meaning of these special days.

Genres: Jewish

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Tessa Frissora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction informational book about Jewish holidays. It is very text heavy but provides thorough explanation of each Jewish holiday, the reason behind it, and the customs and traditions that are often practiced on those days. For elementary grades this book would be too much for one reading. However it is a great resource - parts can be read aloud, one chapter/holiday at a time; a great text for a classroom library; or an information packed source for a social studies unit on religions and/or holidays. Additionally, the book can be helpful in furthering students' use of non-fiction texts with a traditional non-fiction layout including a table of contents. It includes several lists of other primary resources that can be used if a student is interested in a specific Jewish holiday.

This book also has special pages throughout it that explain various activities or offer recipes. Depending on the allowances of the school you are in, it would be an engaging learning experience to cook one of the recipes together in class or use an art period to make one of the "toys" they explain (for example, they explain how to make a noisemaker, called a "grogger").

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so interesting. I'm not Jewish, but wanted to know what the holidays they celebrate mean. A parent at my school let me borrow this book. I like it. I learned a lot!! I think I will purchase this book. Very informative for me.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The explanations for each holiday (in chronological order from fall to summer) are very clear, and understandable enough even for a non-Jewish person. Most of the holiday sections include either a traditional recipe and/or something to make related to the holiday.