Here Is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays: A Picture Book

by Lesléa Newman, Susan Gal (Illustrations)

Lesléa Newman’s picture book Here Is the World is a joyous celebration of the Jewish holidays throughout the year for young children that’s “both lovely and eminently useful” (Kirkus Reviews)—illustrated by Susan Gal.

Here is the world, ever changing and new,
Spinning with joy at the wonder of you!

Beginning with the weekly observance of Shabbat, readers join a family through the holidays and the corresponding seasons. From sounding the shofar on Rosh Hashanah to lighting the menorah for Chanukah to rattling a grogger for Purim, and on through the Jewish year, the joy and significance of each holiday beautifully come to life.

Back matter includes a description of each holiday, easy crafts and recipes for every season, and a 3D tear-out dreidel!

“Illustrating the change of seasons, Gal’s charcoal and digital collage images effervesce with cheery colors, moving from the radiant gold, yellows, and reds of autumn to the greens and blues of spring—with a stop in snowy winter for Chanukah, of course.” —Publishers Weekly

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

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Lesléa Newman (born 1955, Brooklyn, NY) is the author of over 50 books including Heather Has Two Mommies, A Letter To Harvey Milk, Writing From The Heart, In Every Laugh a Tear, The Femme Mystique, Still Life with Buddy, Fat Chance and Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear.
She has received many literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and two Pushcart Prize Nominations.
Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists.
Ms. Newman wrote Heather Has Two Mommies, the first children's book to portray lesbian families in a positive way, and has followed up this pioneering work with several more children's books on lesbian and gay families: Gloria Goes To Gay Pride, Belinda's Bouquet, Too Far Away to Touch, and Saturday Is Pattyday.
She is also the author of many books for adults that deal with lesbian identity, Jewish identity and the intersection and collision between the two. Other topics Ms. Newman explores include AIDS, eating disorders, butch/femme relationships and sexual abuse. Her award-winning short story, A Letter To Harvey Milk has been made into a film and adapted for the stage.
In addition to being an author, Ms. Newman is a popular guest lecturer, and has spoken on college campuses across the country including Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Oregon, Bryn Mawr College, Smith College and the University of Judaism. From 2005-2009, Lesléa was a faculty member of the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. Currently, she is the Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA.

Reviews

[BookishlyJewish]

Review orignally posted on my blog

Every child has THAT book. The book they keep shoving at their parents, over and over again, begging for a reading. Typically said book is reserved for bedtime bribery. Sometimes it is hidden to preserve parental sanity. My personal favorite is when an older sibling is paid to read THE BOOK to the little sibling. Yet there is one book that I will happily read each and every time. That book is Here is the World written by Leslea Newman and Illustrated by Susan Gal.

because the curly haired mom favors dresses and boots like me. Perhaps it is the inclusion of even minor holidays like Tu B'shvat, which I delight in celebrating. Or maybe it is the depiction of a baby naming ceremony for a little girl. Maybe it's all of those things put together. All I know is reading this book, with a small person cuddled onto my lap, feels like coming home to a warm bowl of soup and a snugly afghan.

The text is a simple primer to Jewish holidays for children and adults alike. No prior knowledge is necessary, but for those who do already celebrate these days it can be a way to open a discussion on family traditions. Talk about holidays you enjoy. Find the activities that are meaningful for your family. Use the pages as a stepping stone on your journey, not an end point.

Observance, and family, can come in many different flavors. This book is appropriate for them all. To the point where I have actually volunteered to read it for the umpteenth time to a child looking for a story.

[Juli Anna]

This is a beautiful, simple, wheel-of-the-year-style guide to the Jewish holidays. I loved the illustrations, and the luminous verse.

[Elizabeth]

This is a great intro to Jewish holidays! The picture book narrative of a full year viewed through holidays and seasons works really well, and the illustrations are lovely. The descriptions of each holiday at the end of the book are concise and helpful. The crafts and recipes included in the back are a nice touch (and I saved some of the recipes to try out).

Definitely recommend for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of the Jewish holidays.

[Emily]

I absolutely loved this, it was gorgeous and sweet and movie and I loved the addendum at the back for each holiday and instructions for crafts and recipes.

[Julie Ditton]

This beautiful book begins when parents tell the new baby, "Here is the world" and introduces her to her siblings. The book follows them introducing each holiday to the young child. I like the fact that unlike most "holidays through the year" books, this one starts with a naming ceremony and Shabbat, the two celebrations that an infant would experience first. Then the book follows continues with the typical format, staring with Rosh Hashanah and contusing through season's and holidays. Lesléa Newman describes each occasion through lyrical poetry. Each spread shows the day with gorgeous illustrations by Susan Gal. This beautiful book is a perfect introduction to the holidays. An extensive afterward provides explanations of each celebration for the older readers and there is also an activity section with a craft or recipe for each occasion. I recognize many crafts that my own children brought home from religious school and the recipes look delicious. This 2014 book was the first team up by these creators. But several years later they wrote Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail and this year they published the wonderful Joyful Song: A Naming Story. I highly recommend all three.

[Maya]

For parents, grandparents, and friends looking to convey the spirit of joy in the Jewish holiday cycle rather than storytelling about each holiday. An overview of the holidays and recommended activities in the back of the book. For toddlers and up. With the littlest ones, to enjoy the illustrations and familiarize them with the holidays; for older kids to talk about the meaning of each holiday and what they see in each picture-- but the conversation will need to be guided by the older reader using the pages as a basis for conversation rather than having it supplied in the text.

I especially appreciated the fact that this family was not ostensibly white, which differentiates it in an important way from most American Jewish picture books (and something I have even written Jewish publishers about).

If I had a category called "Happy Reads" this would be included.

[Jade]

This book is about the Jewish celebrations and traditions that families celebrate together. As the story goes on, it follows a Jewish family and they tell us readers about the holidays that go on throughout the year. We get to observe the weekly Shabbat and experience the traditions that correspond with the different seasons. I really enjoyed this book because I didn't realize how long the Jewish celebrations lasted for. I would use this in my classroom to allow my students to have a peak inside just like I did. If any of my students were Jewish I would ask them if they wanted to share about their own experiences or traditions they may have with their own family.

[Kay]

This is a beautiful, rhyming, speed-read through the Jewish holidays.

I actually really liked the summaries of the holidays at the back of the book, and honestly wish a little meat had been taken from there and added straight onto the pages, but *shrug.* That isn't what this book is.
So, take this book for what it is, and enjoy the beautiful artwork, colors, and depictions of Jewish joy.

[Becka Whitlock]

All about the Jewish Holidays this is a fantastic book to introduce when bringing in jewish holidays to your classroom, I thought that it was absolutely wonderful and did a really good job explaining all the traditions and food, even putting some recipes towards the end and explaining how to properly excuse things in their traditions

[Erika Dreifus]

This is a lovely book, narrated in rhyme, with beautiful illustrations. I had hoped that the use of "Here Is the World" might signal attention to the ways Jewish holidays are celebrated around the world, but that's not what the book is about. Instead, it presents a year-in-holidays (and seasons, in the mold of the northern parts of North America) to a new baby.

[Haylee Hansen]

A great informational book that teaches everyone more about Jewish culture. I love the illustrations. It makes the book come alive and makes me feel like I’m at home with each full bleed page I’m placed in. I had no idea there were so many holidays!

[Heather]

Such a beautiful book and I loved the prose. Also I loved the section at the end where the author explained the holidays more and even provided some recipes.

Only thing is I wish they had provided dates for the holidays.

[Carol Gordon Ekster]

A lovely rhyming read aloud to share with families and students in Hebrew or Sunday School. Gorgeous illustrations as we go through the year and Jewish holiday celebrations. Back matter tells more about each holiday and includes recipes and crafts. A great addition to Jewish picture books.

[Emily Green]

1/19/21
Bug just received from PJ library. Cute book about a year of chaggim.

[Anjali]

We thought this book was so beautiful - the gorgeous illustrations and the gentle introduction to many Jewish holidays felt like a classic for a classroom or home.

[Jessica]

Lovely but I would have liked a little more information about each holiday. Recommended.

[Adrianne Rosal]

Today we learned about Yom Kippur.

[Kati Zuber]

I really enjoyed this book. I feel like this would have been a cool book to have as a Jewish kid, to share with friends about your special holidays. The illustrations were also touching

[Andrew]

Crafts, Recipes and 12 Holidays/Customs:
-Naming Ceremony
-Shabbat
-Rosh Hashanah
-Yom Kippur
-Sukkot
-Simchat Torah
-Chanukah/Hannukah
-Tu B' Shevat
-Purim
-Passover
-Shavuot

[Amanda]

Beautifully illustrated with a fun rhyming text and lots of information and recipes at the back!

[Andita]

Menarik. Kali ini aku baca tentang acara-acara orang jewish.

[What April's Reading]

The book explains each Jewish holiday or season with a little poem. The back few pages are filled with an explanation of each holiday with crafts and foods to make for each holiday. Very cute.

[Robin Leach]

Perfect.

[Snow Yuri]

Beautiful, whimsical, relaxing - this book was my daughters favorite for an entire year when she was 4 years old.

[Brianna]

I loved everything about this book. I'm not Jewish, but this book is a great read for everyone. The illustrations and the story were a 10/10!

[Alexis Speciale]

This was very interesting book. I learned a lot about different jewish holidays celebrated around the world, something I did not know much about before reading this.

[Elizabeth]

The illustrations are really rich (almost overwhelming). I like that the crowd scenes include Jewish kindred who are Black, East Asian, etc.

I hadn't realized until reading some reviews that the story is following a single family (given that the author is Jewish, feminist, and lesbian, I was hoping for more diverse family configuration representation and so had been disappointed when each scene that showed a family showed an apparently heteronormative family -- but I have a habit of reading too quickly and not paying enough attention to the accompanying illustrations). So ostensibly the book follows the infant girl we meet in the first page through her first year -- which is a nice framing device.

The sparseness of the Yom Kippur section ("Here is your family, all dressed in white. / Here is the Break-Fast to eat with delight.") was somewhat jarring, though I understand that it's difficult to summarize that holy day in an age-appropriate way for young children in a picturebook.

The depiction of kids waving white flags with blue Stars of David on them (a lot in Simchat Torah but also in Purim) made me cringe because that basically looks like an Israeli flag (though Googling informs me that the official national flag also has a blue bar on the top and on the bottom).

[Nicole C. (using StoryGraph more these days)]

1. Culture or group portrayed: Judaism
2. Book information: Newman, L. (2014). Here is the World: a Year of Jewish Holidays. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.
3. Summary: In this book, readers will take a journey with a Jewish family through the seasons and important holidays. Through simple rhyming couplets and beautiful charcoal and collage illustrations, each holiday is encapsulated. At the back of the book are more detailed descriptions of each holiday, as well as a craft or recipe to go along with it.
4. Cultural/Multicultural evaluation: I thought this was a good primer on Jewish holidays. The “story,” such as it is, follows one family throughout the year, which is good, but perhaps it would have been nicer to see different representations of Jewish families as one travels through the year. The scenes with non-family members do have some people of color in them. I enjoyed the extracurricular activities in the back of the book, as they help illustrate an important aspect of each holiday.
5. Conclusion/verdict: I highly recommend this for younger children.

[Samantha]

Rhyming couplets take readers through the Jewish calendar. Charcoal illustrations were manipulated digitally to make a collage and give readers the images to match the vocabulary introduced in text (i.e. yarmulke, shofar, sukkah etc).

Back matter includes brief descriptions of each of the ceremonies presented in text and gives readers craft and recipe ideas for the various holidays. I especially liked the edible Torah (Genius!) and growing a parsley plant in honor of Tu B'Shevat.

This book is not only beautiful, but an informative and entertaining read aloud. It celebrates the Jewish culture and gives readers/teachers/parents great extension activities. Highly recommended for both pleasure reading and class study for PreK-4+.

[Lynn]

I'd like to share this with my Jewish acquaintances so see their opinion of this. I'm not doubting the authority here, just the presentation of the information. For me, it gives me enough information to have a basic understanding. The illustrations, while colorful, are a bit abstract to add to that understanding. It's difficult to see exactly what the holiday represents in some of the pages.
My favorite line is in the edible Torah recipe: "As you bite into the Torah, think about how delicious it is to hear it read aloud."
Interesting title, that a year of holidays represents "The World."