Dance of the Puppet – Chapter 11

August 29, 2013

purple bookIsrael Book Shop presents Chapter 11 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

By four thirty, Malka had managed to completely forget about the disturbing phone conversation. At two o’clock, after lunch, the girls were supposed to board buses for one of the nearby mountains, where a scavenger-hunt-style maze activity was planned for them. But then Yael’s phone rang, and all the plans went haywire.

“A child from a local moshav stepped on an old mine on the mountain we’re supposed to be going to,” Yael said with a somber expression. “He was seriously wounded, and the whole area’s been closed to hikers.”

Hashem yishmor! I hope he has a refuah sheleimah!” exclaimed Ruti, one of the tenth grade madrichos, but in the same breath she added, “But when we went there the day before yesterday to put down the hints and the markers, there were no old mines!”

“Tell that to the police,” Yael replied dourly. “In any case, it’s closed, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Keep Reading…


NEW RELEASE! Goodbye, Thumb-Sucking!

August 29, 2013

C348“How many times do I have to tell you to take that thumb out of your mouth??!!”

Does this sound familiar? Do you have a little one who still sucks his or her thumb, even though he/she is already a big boy or big girl? Are you at your wits’ end about how to stop this bad habit that is driving you—and lots of other family members—up the wall? If so, then you will be thrilled about our latest treasure of a children’s book, Goodbye, Thumb-Sucking!

Written by noted children’s author Simi Licht, of the Super Social Skills series fame, this book introduces your child to Tziporah, a chronic thumb-sucker who cannot seem to give up her bad habit, no matter what her family tries to do about it. When the special nail cream Tatty buys for her, the white sock Mommy tries putting on her thumb, and even Zaidy’s very tempting offer, don’t seem to help Tziporah stop sucking her thumb, there is only one thing left that can do the trick…

With its charming rhyming stanzas and adorable illustrations that you can’t help but love, Goodbye, Thumb-Sucking is a book you and your child will enjoy reading together again and again!  

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! Balabusta’s Daily Organizer 2013-2014

August 29, 2013

L626Are you overwhelmed? Stressed out? Feeling that you have so much to do but no time to do it all? We have the solution for you!

The Balabusta’s Daily Organizer: the ideal planner and calendar for the busy Jewish housewife.

For 5 years now, frum women of every type and stripe have come to know and love this amazing organizer, which, though slim and handy, somehow has everything in it. It includes a weekly calendar, complete with Jewish and secular dates and all the Yamim Tovim and (l’havdil) legal holidays, menu planning lists, to-do lists, grocery lists, candle-lighting times in many Jewish communities, tips, and so much more. Little wonder that so many of you have been waiting on pins and needles for this sixth edition to be released!

As you know, there is a time and a place for everything. You just need The Balabusta’s Daily Organizer to help you schedule all your daily activities into your busy life—and then you’ll have found what the time and place is for each thing!

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! Bright Beginnings Workbook

August 29, 2013

C345Do you want to give your child the priceless Hebrew language skills that are so important to his/her success in school? (Just think of how much better Israeli children do in Chumash and Navi, because they speak Ivrit.) Do you have a child who is floundering in Limudei Kodesh (Judaic Studies), because he/she just can’t seem to get his/her hands around the Hebrew language?

Perhaps you are an adult wishing to improve your understanding of Chumash and the Hebrew language, or you are a teacher who would love to upgrade the quality of instruction in Limudei Kodesh by introducing cutting-edge curricular materials that will attract and retain your students’ attention.

If any of the above applies to you, then you will soon be dancing the kazatzke about the Bright Beginnings Chumash Workbooks!

The Bright Beginnings Chumash Workbooks, developed over a sixteen-year period in Yeshiva Darchei Noam of Monsey, NY, are powerful tools that will help you learn how to translate any pasuk in Chumash on your own. The workbooks are designed for classroom use at the grade level when children are first introduced to Chumash; but they can also be utilized at home, if you are a parent looking to enrich the Hebrew skills of your children; and even for adults who want to become more fluent in Chumash and Lashon Kodesh.

With its color-coded system for teaching how to decipher the root word (shoresh) and the various prefixes/suffixes, as well as how to translate each one of them; the carefully designed worksheets that support the synchronized manner in which each lesson is taught; the stimulating shoresh flashcards; and the fun “Shoresh-land” game (included in Volume 2), these workbooks provide a real skill-building program that will throw open wide the doors to learning Chumash and Lashon Kodesh!

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! From East to West

August 29, 2013

L627I have a couple of friends who tell me, “I’ll read any story book—but just not a novel. Why should I waste my time and emotions on a bunch of fictional characters, when I could be reading a true story, about real people, instead?”

Now, I happen to not agree with this way of thinking. I think it’s a very good and healthy thing to lose yourself, every once in a while, in a fictional world comprised of fictional people.

But be that as it may, I do hear my friends’ point about the importance of reading true stories, as opposed to only fiction. And it is for this reason that we at Israel Bookshop are committed to bringing you the best in literature of both the fiction and non-fiction types.

A phenomenal non-fiction book that has just recently hit the shelves is From East to West. This well-written, stirring book chronicles the amazing story of a Yemenite family from a hundred years ago, who traveled from Sana’a in Yemen, across deserts and seas and through other unbearable conditions, all the way to Switzerland. Their original intention was to move there temporarily, for medicinal purposes, but Hashgachah deemed otherwise, and years later, Yichye, Saada, and their daughters still find themselves living in Western Europe, far, far away from all that had ever been familiar to them, including their home, family…and little boy Yosef Chaim.

As her parents struggle to find their place as strangers in a strange land, where the customs and culture are so very different from their own, Esther, Yichye and Saada’s oldest daughter, finds herself torn between her heritage and the enticements of the modern world…

From East to West is a true, riveting story that will resonate deep within you. You will find yourselves growing attached to Yichye, Saada, Yosef Chaim, Salach, and the others, and will wait with bated breath to find out how their suspenseful tale ends…

This is a story that will linger on in your heart and mind long after you’ve turned the final page of the book.

Click here to purchase online.


The Unique Princess

August 27, 2013

L555If there’s one thing constant in the very unstable world in which we live, it’s the fact that we need Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s mercy at every second of our lives. What with the horrific hurricanes and terrifying news reports going on in our lives, who doesn’t feel the need to accrue extra merits? To chap arayin on another mitzvah…to overcome the yetzer hara in yet another battle…whatever it takes to tip the scales in Shamayim in our favor and have Hashem deal with us with rachmanus!

We women don’t have to look far to find an area to work on that is laden with potential zechusim. Tznius, we are told by our gedolim, is synonymous with brachos and yeshuos. The more we work to improve our tznius, the greater our Heavenly protection and reward will be.

How does a woman work on her tznius? you ask. Well, we can tell you about one beautiful way of doing so. The Unique Princess, by acclaimed educators and authors Rabbi Yirmiyohu and Tehilla Abramov (that’s right, of The Secret of Jewish Femininity fame), is a magnificent contribution to the world of tznius. This recently released book, though slim in size, is absolutely packed with inspiration, halachah, and hashkafah— all on the topic of tznius. Nothing is condescending or “lecture-ish” about this book (we’ve sat through enough long speeches on tznius ourselves to know how well that method goes over!); to the contrary, the information contained in it is uplifting, eye-opening, and change-inducing!

We invite you to come and claim the royal heritage that is rightfully yours! You are a unique princess—and now you can even have a manual explain to you what this means!

Click here to purchase online.


Great Elul Reading! From the Mashgiach’s Heart

August 27, 2013

L562Growth. It’s something we should all be striving for. No matter what age or what level we’re at, as frum Jews we know that there’s no such thing as having achieved it all.

That’s why From the Mashgiach’s Heart is such an important addition to any Jewish family’s bookshelf or library. Here is a book that practically takes you by the hand and propels you forward in your path to spiritual growth.  The book is a collection of over thirty shmuessen given by Rav Moshe Aharon Stern zt”l, renowned mashgiach of Kamenitz Yeshivah in Yerushalayim. These shmeussen were delivered to a wide variety of audiences, including kollel yungeleit, ba’alei batim, yeshivah bachurim, seminary girls, and housewives.

Those who have heard Rav Moshe Aharon Stern’s shmeussen before will immediately recognize his “voice” in these pages. It comes through with all of the Mashgiach’s passion and fervor, emanating straight from his great heart…and thus finding immediate entry into your own heart, as well.

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! The Carpool Clan – Speed Bumps

August 27, 2013

C347If you’ve got a “tween-ager” in your life, by now you’ve most probably realized that tweens are their own unique breed, with their own likes, dislikes, tastes, and opinions. This can get somewhat complicated when it comes to, say, them deciding one night to stay up till midnight like a full-fledged teenager—when you happen to know that your feisty eleven-year-old, as mature as she feels she is, becomes cranky and irritable when she is without her regular night’s sleep…

Whatever the case, when it comes to books, you can be sure that tweens will most certainly turn up their noses if you offer them too juvenile a book. On the other hand, though, you don’t necessarily want your tween-aged daughter reading about all the complex issues addressed in so many of the teen and adult novels that are being put out these days.

The solution? Simple. To create novels geared especially for tweens.

Popular author M. Jakubowicz set out to do just that when she created The Carpool Clan series. In this first book, Speed Bumps, your tween will read all about a group of girls her very own age, and the rollicking story that they have to share.

Your tween will immediately become hooked to Shevy, her friends, and all of her zany ideas…and you’ll become hooked to this brand new book and series once you see how much fun your tween has reading it!

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! Close to Home

August 27, 2013

L629For all those who view moving to a different city as “exciting” or “adventurous,” most people who have ever actually done it can assure you that, with an extra large bottle of Advil, and maybe a tranquilizer or two for the really faint of heart, you may actually emerge from the experience in one piece—but don’t push things to expect too much more than that.
The Suskin family, who have recently moved to burgeoning Lakewood, NJ from their small, out-of-town community, can tell you all about it…
Close to Home, our latest novel, is the riveting story of a family’s experience at trying to fit in and settle themselves in a society that, as much as it’s familiar to them, is also quite new and alien compared to what they’re used to. It’s a novel charged with emotion, drama, and painstaking personal growth, as each of the characters in the story attempts to find him-or herself in the midst of lots of raging inner turmoil…
If you’re looking for a great new book whose story you can relate to, whose characters are so realistic you’ll feel like you’ve met them personally; a book that will grip you; a book that you will cry over and laugh over, too—you’ll find that Close to Home fits the bill to the T!

Click here to purchase online.


Dance of the Puppet – Chapter 10

August 22, 2013

purple bookIsrael Book Shop presents Chapter 10 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Elchanan wrinkled his forehead. “So why do you need me?” he asked. “Did you forget where the bank is or something?” Dvir’s store was bustling with the normal pre-closing-hour rush; the last few customers were loitering at the shelves when Yaffa had burst in with her bizarre request.

“I didn’t forget.” Yaffa took a deep breath. Only then did her husband notice the brown envelope in her hand. “But I want you to come with me there. I won’t know where to go and who to speak to.”

“Well, it’s about time you learned,” Elchanan said. He retreated into the store, looking for his wallet in the drawer under the cash register. It was true that Yaffa was only twenty, but if he wasn’t mistaken, he had taken care of banks transactions for his father from the age of fourteen. Well, his father hated big banks because of the Israeli tellers and clerks who had no patience for his heavy accent. And Yaffa? Yaffa couldn’t stand the bank, or the National Insurance office, and she could barely handle the doctor’s office because… Well, why? Now that he thought about it, he realized he had no idea.

“I don’t know,” Yaffa said as they stood in the bank between the chain link dividers and plastic plants. “These huge, cold places get me nervous.” When it was Elchanan’s turn, she watched him walk up to the teller and slide the brown envelope under the glass partition. “The account number is on the envelope,” he informed the clerk. Then he looked at Yaffa, standing to his right. “You see how simple it is?” Keep Reading…