The Remarkable Journey of Josh's Kippah

by Barbara Elissa, Farida Zaman (Illustrator)

Overview

A Bar Mitzvah boy's kippah falls off his head and journeys around the world before finding its way back home. Follow the madcap adventure of Josh's kippah from his Bar Mitzvah in New York to a sukkah in Israel and a Hanukkah party in Argentina, with many stops in between.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780822599111
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2010
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Barbara Elissa is a college professor and lives in New Jersey with her twin sons. This is her first book for children.

Farida Zaman is an illustrator and designer. She runs school workshops for children to share her love of art, guest lectures at art colleges, and gives regular readings from books she has illustrated. Farida studied at Chelsea School of Art and Wimbledon College, both in London, followed by freelance work in Geneva, London, and New York, where her clients have included Swatch, Body Shop, London Underground, and The New York Times. She is a member of the Society of Illustrators and lives in Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 2—As is often customary, Joshua Jacobs provides his Bar Mitzvah guests with personalized kippot (head coverings) to wear during the prayer service and celebration. His uncle takes his kippah home with him to Los Angeles and wears it on Rosh Hashanah. During the outdoor Tashlich ceremony, a big gust of wind blows the skullcap away and it lands on the head of Benjamin Brody, who takes it home to Australia. As the yarmulke changes heads, it travels to Israel, Paris, Argentina, and Miami, celebrating the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, and Purim, until it coincidentally makes its way back to New York for Passover, where Josh discovers it in a box in the synagogue on Shavuot. While it's fun to read the different inscriptions on the kippot and imagine the stories behind them, Elissa fails to provide readers with anything more than a basic geography lesson and a brief journey through the Jewish calendar. Cheerful watercolor illustrations add energy and enthusiasm, a helpful glossary is appended, the depiction of women wearing kippot is inclusive, and there is a nice message about the oneness of the world Jewish community. However, there isn't much of a story here that will attract readers, especially those outside the Jewish community.—Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL

School Library Journal