Celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: With Honey, Prayers, and the Shofar

by Deborah Heiligman

Celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur examines how these Jewish High Holy Days are celebrated worldwide. Rosh Hashanah, known as the Jewish New Year, is a time for reflection and resolution. On Yom Kippur, also called the Day of Atonement, Jews fast, pray, and ask God's forgiveness for their sins. Deborah Heiligman's lively first-person text introduces readers to the sounding of the shofar, the holidays' greeting cards, prayers, and special foods. Rabbi Shira Stern's informative note puts the High Holy Days into wider historical and cultural context for parents and teachers.

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Genres: Holiday, Jewish, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Judaism, Religion

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2007

About the author

Deborah Heiligman has been writing for children since she worked at Scholastic News soon after college. Since then she has written more than thirty books for children and teens. Her books include picture books, both fiction and nonfiction, and young adult nonfiction and fiction. Some titles: Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, a National Book Award finalist; The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos, a Cook Prize Winner and Orbis Pictus honor; Intentions, a Sydney Taylor Award winner, and a picture book series about Tinka the dog. Her latest book is Vincent and Theo: The van Gogh Brothers. For more information please visit www.DeborahHeiligman.com

Reviews

[Sarah]

I used this book for a co-op class learning about holidays around the world. It was the perfect length and complexity for the 8 year olds in my group, and it was very informative. I love that it includes pictures of Jews celebrating different aspects of Rosh Hashanah from all around the world. All the photos were great, the text manageable and interesting. A really great book!

[J.D. Holman]

My teachers are cool with me reading interfaith and multicultural books for storytime, so since Rosh Hashanah began a few days ago, I read this book to several classes today. It is appropriate for preschool through elementary students; the resources in the back would be good for older kids as well. There is a lot of good information.

I did change some wording for storytime, though, particularly the pronouns. This is written to be shared with Jewish children. It is a perfectly fine book for sharing with everyone, but I'm uncomfortable with the "royal we" when I'm not part of that religion/culture.

Still, a great, accessible book!

[Ellon]

Overall, I think this is a great informative book about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The first page bothered me because it talks about honey and the shofar without explaining more about them. But a few pages later, there is an explanation. It just seemed weird to add that first mention in.
I really liked the photographs in the book and how they were from all over the world.

[Theresa]

Description and history of two Jewish holidays, both celebrated during September or October. Full color photos and easy to read info.

Rosh Hashanah: a celebration of the Jewish New year.
Yom Kippur: 10 days later, a fasting holy day of repentance.

[Shoshanna]

This is probably the earliest version of a Deborah Heiligman photo picture book for Jewish holidays. I like the inclusion of photos of Jews all over the world, but it isn't until later books that she is better with narrative. This is much more didactic.

[Janice]

Children's book that explains about these 2 holidays and why Muslims celebrate them. Good introduction. Wish it would have given more information about Muslims.

[Marrin]

Phenomenal, first-person

[Beverly]

This is a wordy picture book with basic, but thorough information about the two holy days, accompanied by photos of celebrants in the US, Zimbabwe, Israel, Thailand, Portugal, Morocco, Mexico, and more. The text tells why the days are celebrated and give details about traditional celebrations, such as apples and honey, white clothing, throwing away sins, shofar blowing, etc. The back matter includes some additional facts, an adaptation of the Al Het prayer, descriptions of the Torah and shofars, a recipe for honey cake, a bibliography of books and websites, and a glossary. Finally, there is an essay by Rabbi Shira Stern entitled "Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: Coming Full Circle." This book will give non-Jews a good introduction to the high holy days.

[Kristi]

As an eBook available free from my public library, this has been a great tool to use in both of the sixth grade classrooms that I have taught in. The photographs are vibrant and clearly show how this holiday is celebrated around the world. In terms of differentiation, the main text is at a lower reading level (about third grade) but the essay at the end is more challenging (for the average sixth grader).

[Marya]

BIG! COLOR! GLOSSY! PHOTOS! The text is large and simplistic as well, but the photos really steal the show in this book. Best of all, the pictures come from all over the world, showcasing the diversity of the religion's members despite the similarity of its traditions. We love you, National Geographic!

[Mar]

These children's books are great for teaching about world religions. I like the information. I like the photos and the recipes. Makes explaining things in a class nice and easy when one can do it with pictures.

[Mauri]

Another good one, by the same woman who wrote Celebrate Passover, in the same 'Holidays Around the World' series by National Geographic. Same diverse portrayal of the celebrations, same simple explanations with more in-depth resources at the end.