“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Throw out the typical question to a group of kids, and watch the answers—and their imagination—fly! Fire fighter…police chief…doctor…and was that “lion tamer” I just heard, too?

Now, what if you could put a Jewish spin on this question, and, while activating your kids’ imagination and getting them to think about the different jobs they could do when they grow up, have them contemplate along a spiritual angle?

Sheitel macher…shochet…sofer…these are some of the answers you might hear. (Sorry, I don’t know of any Jewish job that involves taming a lion just yet, though of course your child could always be the one to invent that job!) Ah—and here’s where you could listen and shep nachas about the Jewish profession chosen by your little tzaddik or tzaddekes…

That’s what Tools of the Trade, by Aviva Werner, is all about—getting kids to think out of the general box and along more of a Jewish angle when focusing on possible future jobs they might want to do. The book is fun and brightly illustrated, and sure to provide lots of entertainment and discussion with your kids, as they explore the various tools they would need for each “Jewish job.”

Click here to purchase online.

“Ma, look at the project I made in school!”

“Ma, I need this note signed, now!”

“Ma, Dovid took away my pencil!”

Could you tell that I just walked into the house?

If you’re a mother of young children, you’re probably smiling and nodding your head, thinking how similar things are in your home when you enter the house in the middle of the day, to face your rambunctious crew who has been, ahem, missing you like crazy while you were away. But I have to say, that day it was different. Because that day I was prepared.

I didn’t say a word to the kids. I didn’t even turn my head. All I did was whip out the new book I’d brought home with me:MiddosMan 3. And, as I expected, my kids immediately erupted in cheers. All whining and complaints forgotten, they began clamoring over the book, begging me to read it to them. And I just smiled serenely and headed to the couch, silently thanking MiddosMan for once again coming to the rescue, this time to help out an overwhelmed mother and her bored children…

The MiddosMan series is only a few years old, yet it has become so wildly popular among children, I sometimes wonder what we did before it came out. Because aside for being excellent, adorably illustrated books that teach great lessons to kids, these books also come with their own read-along CD’s, complete with music and songs. This means that you could actually leave your kids with the book, turn on the CD player so they could “read” along with each page, and then go to the kitchen to make supper!

MiddosMan 3 focuses on the middah of being happy for others—not being jealous when your sibling or friend has something that you don’t. And instead of appearing in his Middos Mobile or Middos Copter, as in Books 1 and 2, MiddosMan races to save the children from Mr. Yetzer Horah…in his Middos Boat!

My kids were glued to the book—they absolutely loved it. Buy the book for your own gang—you’ll see exactly what I mean!

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You know those books that are real tear-jerkers, the ones that could move even the most indifferent of readers and turn them into a bowl of mush? Yeah, well, this novel is exactly like that.

When reading Dreams Delayed, be sure to set yourself up first with a big box of tissues—trust me, you’ll need it! Between the happy moments and the sad ones traversing the chapters, the emotion running throughout this book is buzzing and ALIVE, and you will feel it!

You’ll read about Ayala, who’s on cloud nine about her engagement to Bentzy, “the best boy in the universe”…until a terrible tragedy sends her plummeting down, down, down, straight into a black abyss, from where she watches her hopes and dreams dissipate into thin air. You’ll read about Gavi, a teenager in pain—on two accounts. And then there’s Batsheva, and Mrs. Kramer, and Shuli, and of course Shaya…and all the rest of the very realistic characters who breathe life into this masterpiece of a novel and give it its stunning and oh-so-compelling quality.

Dreams Delayed will not only provide you with lots of reading pleasure—it will actually be an experience for you, one that you will not soon forget. Enjoy!

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As the autumn months slowly turn into winter, there’s nothing more tantalizing than slipping under the covers with a good book.  Teenagers, this one is for you! Told from the perspective of three very different narrators, U-turn is the mesmerizing story of true friendship and change. The all-American Margaret Miller has been blessed with a spunky and exciting personality, but when things come crashing down, so does her core self. As Margaret and her newfound best friend Shiffy deal with their issues simultaneously but individually, readers are drawn into an exciting world of intrigue and adventure, spurred on by Margaret’s kid brother Henry.

If you’re expecting a straightforward story of teenage friendship and adventure, be prepared for surprises. For one thing, Margaret’s older sister Julie is dealing with some issues of her own—which don’t always jive with a straightforward plot of friendship and growth. Julie is one of the narrators of this story, and her tale is quite the fascinating one. But then again, so is Margaret’s…and so is Shiffy’s…

Authored by popular teen author, Chaya Sara Ben Shachar, this book is a solid read. So what are you waiting for? The autumn winds? The winter snow? Pick up a copy of U-Turn, get yourself comfy, and be prepared to enter the world of three very different teens.

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Once there was a family. The husband and wife did not get along. The children were wild and misbehaved. Tension, resentment, and unhappiness hung over their Shabbos table like a black cloud.

Then the family found The Parshah and You. They began reading and learning from the book each Shabbos. Now the family is an entirely different one. The parents have wonderful shalom bayis; the children obey their parents and behave beautifully. And they all lived happily ever after…

Too good to be true? Yes, you’re right, of course. If only life were that magical and simple… But there is definitely an element of validity to this little story, and that is the fact that Rabbi Chaim Morgenstern’s book, The Parshah and You, contains priceless lessons on interpersonal relationships,shalom bayis, and chinuch—and reading and internalizing these lessons is a good way to start mending any rocky relationship. It’s also a great way to enhance an already wonderful relationship—so no matter where you stand, you have what to gain from this book!

As the book is based on the parshah, and the warm advice, stories, and divrei Torah are broken down into small increments, the material is easy to read and easy to digest. You don’t feel like you’re sitting in on a boring lecture or anything like that; to the contrary, you can’t help but be moved and inspired by Rabbi Morgenstern’s eloquent writing and the way he delivers a message.

This is a book that will be a treasured addition to every family’s Shabbos table. It belongs there, right alongside the Shabbos candles and Shabbos food.

Buy it for your family…and for yourself.

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Shifra and Leah were the most un-similar twins I’d ever met. They were a few grades older than me in high school, so I didn’t have much to do with them, but whenever I saw them, I couldn’t help but marvel at their differences. You would never guess the two girls were sisters—much less twins!

Shifra was tall and thin, with fiery red hair and hundreds of freckles sprinkled all over her face. Leah was short, heavyset, and brown-haired, with nary a freckle in sight.

It wasn’t just their appearances. Leah was the life of the party, always jolly and laughing. Shifra, on the other hand, was much quieter. (I know, you expected the redhead to be the loud one, right?)

The weird—or should I say, nice—thing about it was that Shifra and Leah were the closest of friends! You would have thought girls who were so different by nature would gravitate to totally diverse interests, but no, these two were an inseparable pair, always doing things together. They went to the same seminary, they worked in the same office afterward, and in fact, if I recall correctly, they even got engaged and married within a few weeks of each other! It was as if one couldn’t tie the knot without knowing that her twin sister was doing the same!

I hadn’t thought of Shifra and Leah in a while—I haven’t seen either of them in years—but when I read Blood Brothers, by popular author Esther Rapaport, the image of these two girls suddenly flashed in my mind. Here was a set of twins that was the exact opposite of Shifra and Leah. As identical twin boys, Alonso and Alejandro couldn’t have looked more similar, yet the two got on each other’s nerves like the worst of enemies.

Their poor mother, I couldn’t help but think. What a sorry state of affairs.

Then I read more…and more…and, like in every good novel, things began to get more complicated. No more was the greatest problem in the book the fact that Alonso and Alejandro couldn’t get along; now the two had more sinister issues to deal with… Like a life-threatening illness facing Alejandro. Like a high-ranking Communist on Alonso’s back. Like some unexpected perils as Alonso tried to pursue his forbidden Torah study…

For all of you readers familiar with Esther Rapaport, you’ll know without me even saying it: this is one great book. It’s got all the ingredients of a good suspense novel: an exotic setting, intrigue, character depth, some fascinating history thrown in, and an awesome plot.

If you’re looking for a novel that will bring you lots of Yom Tov reading pleasure, look no further: Blood Brothers is the book for you!

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“Ah, those were the good old days!”

How many folks (usually those aged forty and up) have been guilty of uttering these words? And the truth is, there is truth to these words—so if you’ve been accused of saying them, there’s really no reason to feel any guilt.

Somehow, in the “old days” (which, by the way, is a relative term—something I’ve come to realize as I’ve gotten older), things were more simple, more sturdy, and of better quality. (Think: your Bubby’s old green sofa that you wish would fall apart so she’d get rid of it—but it just aint happening any time soon…)

The written word, too, was often like that. A few decades ago, there wasn’t that much by way of Jewish reading books and magazines, but what there was, was generally good, wholesome, quality reading material.

Take Light Magazine, for example. Mention the title to an avid reader of thirty or forty years ago, and chances are you’ll see an immediate smile break out on his or her face. The stories in Light were well-written, thought-provoking, and just plain fun to read—and people loved them.

And now, Israel Bookshop has captured some of that nostalgic past by publishing Light!–a collection of stories from those same favored magazines of yesteryear! And lest you think this book will only be liked by your Bubby and Zeidy, but not by you, young spring chicken that you are—well, at Israel Bookshop, we’ve come to learn the literature tastes of all age groups, and we can assure you that Light! is a book that will become a fast favorite among today’s teens and young adults, too.

(Though, yes, Bubby and Zeidy will probably also be hooked on this book, and if you’re thinking of buying a nice gift for them, Light! is a wonderful option. As you know, a little Light goes a long way in expelling the darkness…)

Click here to purchase online.