When you’ve taken one bite of a heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth, nougat-filled, Viennese-crunch-covered piece of chocolate (hungry for some, anyone?), well, there’s no stopping at just that one piece! You’re bound to reach for another piece…and then another…and then another…

That’s the way it is with Rachel Stein’s short story books for tweens. Her first collection of short stories, The Story that Never Ends, was so tantalizing, that many of her tween fans wanted more. And since we at Israel Bookshop do our best to deliver…here you have it, the release of Guilt-Free Chocolate, a delicious, new collection of short stories that the special tween in your life will absolutely devour, without any guilt whatsoever!

In Guilt-Free Chocolate, tweens will read about kids their own age, kids just like them, who have struggles and triumphs that they can relate to oh-so-well. We recommend this as a great reading book for any tween-aged kid. So sit back with it, relax, and enjoy—and bon appetite!

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Okay, it’s 19 years later and it’s time to fess up: I’m the one who put the porcelain butter dish in the grab bag. I was invited to a Chanukah party but only decided to go at the last minute. There was going to be a grab bag and each person had to put one inexpensive gift inside. How could I go if I had nothing to give?

That’s when inspiration struck – I could give the new butter dish, or more precisely, the extra butter dish. Somehow I had justified buying two of them when we set up house, only to hear my husband say

“Does anyone use these things?”

“Some people do,” I had assured him, and hoped I was still enough in the know to be right about that.

And so, I timidly began to use one of the off-white dish and cover sets, while the other sat collecting dust. Until Chanukah,when it became my ticket in to that big, crowded party. I went with a friend. We didn’t speak about the grab bag on the way there. But there was plenty to talk about on the way home…

“Whaddya get?” I innocently inquired.

“I actually don’t know,” she said as she reached into her bag and began the show and tell. “What do you think it’s for?”

“Hmmn,” I said v-e-r-y slowly. “Looks like a butter dish.”

“Who gives a butter dish as a Chanukah present? Does anyone still use these things?” She asked, with an expression most often seen on the face of someone sitting in the back seat – who is car sick.

“Some people do,” I managed to mumble. After that, I changed the topic. I spoke about how hard it was to maneuver my new stroller. I spoke about how what it took to get out of the house that night. And I spoke about anything else that came to mind, just to fill the air time. I didn’t have it in me to tell her I was the person responsible for her disappointing gift. I also knew that she would be embarrassed to know she had just badmouthed my humble Chanukah offering, to my face.

That night I learned it’s better to show up empty handed sometimes (Yup. A few ladies did that, smiled sweetly, and somebody still let them come in and nosh on latkes! They just couldn’t pick a prize from the grab bag, that’s all.) and I also learned that it’s better to keep secrets sometimes. In fact, even though I speak to that friend on an almost weekly basis, I still haven’t told her. Hopefully by now she would just laugh it off, but who knows? Why stir up unnecessary friction?

If that’s how awkward it can be to keep a minor secret, what’s it like to be sitting on top of a massive secret that’s as volatile as a volcano? When the Clouds Part can answer that question. It’s a novel with real life flavor.

At the center is Motty Kleinman, a small baby with big secrets; secrets that his family tries desperately to guard. Some of the story eventually leaks out and it’s clear who the culprit is – Osnat, the friendly but too-talkative teenage girl their family has taken in for the year. Accusations fly and Osnat flees without a trace. How could she? Why would she?

A generation later we also meet Motty’s niece, seventeen-year-old Dassi. Dassi has a secret too: She’s not everything she’s cracked up to be. When she quickly resigns from her position as a Bnos group madrichah, everybody “knows” the reason why. In fact, they all think so well of her because of it – but they’re all totally wrong!

Between the lines of this story that spans decades, are many silent but pointed questions:

When do you keep secrets, and at what price?

What is it like to gain a false reputation? Is it worth fighting it?

Can severed relationships ever really be mended?

If you do the right thing for the wrong reason is it still a good thing?

You’re invited to read this emotionally charged, illuminating book and see what conclusions you reach. And, if you also happen to be invited to a Chanukah party and are asked to bring a gift for a grab bag,take it from me and just give something safe, like a box of Kleenex and this book!

-Guest Blogger: Sara Miriam Gross

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When I was in fourth grade our teacher launched an invent-a-product contest. Each student would invent something completely new and different, and then market it to the class.

I invented polka dot paint “For people whose furniture doesn’t match their walls.” Coloring in the bright circles on the advertising poster was fun. Putting together a convincing sales pitch was challenging, but also fun. And thankfully, that was where it stopped. After all, how could a ten-year-old manufacture spotted paint and create an actual sample? How could any grownup make such paint for that matter? If only I had known Professor Binenshtick back then…

You say you’ve never heard of the absent-minded but positively brilliant inventor of hundreds of useful (and occasionally useless) inventions? The arrogant mastermind behind: the moving sidewalk, condensed potatoes, the carcopter, the collapsible bus stop and the PFP (I can’t give away everything, now can I?) Well, truth be told, neither had I, until I read the new Rebbe Mendel book: The Zany Inventor.

Ephraim Offenbach (the professor’s faithful assistant and a fine fellow with a few inventions to his own good name,) has managed to record, not only the professor’s grand inventions, but also his dramatic run-ins with enemies: Author Wilhelm Wursst. Police Officer Chamid, Duke & Taxi Driver Sir Raymond Gaton and Yoram Kichli, Mayor of Kfar Tenneh.

How did the well-meaning professor manage to make all these enemies?

Will they succeed in sabotaging his inventions and robbing him of his hard-earned fame, fortune and (somewhat) good name?

When Binenshtick and Wursst are both vying for the Nobel Prize, which one will tame his appetite for fame and emerge as the real middos winner? Well…well, I can’t give everything away, now can I?

WARNING: Read this book before you give it to your kids or else you may not have the chance. And if you had any thoughts about giving your kids some extraordinary gizmo this Chanukah  –like maybe a robot that makes mac and cheese while it does their homework — know that this humorous, touching, well-crafted and totally out-of-the-box book is guaranteed to make any cutting-edge gadget look like a skimpy consolation prize. Might as well skip the robot, save the cash, and just give them this book.

–Guest Blogger: Sara Miriam Gross

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Twenty-six years old and still single, Miriam was a jaded dater. She felt like she’d met all the shadchanim who existed, read all the shidduchim books possible, met all the frum boys who were even remotely compatible to her—and still, nothing. She was burnt out and frustrated, and felt like no one could understand her. Worst of all, she felt like she was at an all-time spiritual low. 

Then she began reading Rabbi Yoni Posnick’s articles in the Yated. What at first was simply “interesting reading material” to her soon grew to become “really good stuff” and then even “excellent articles”! There was no question about it: Miriam was hooked on Rabbi Posnick’s writings.

What makes Rabbi Posnick’s articles so refreshing, especially to singles, is the way he takes all of his shidduchim advice from the Chumash itself. In this way, readers feel like they are getting a spiritual boost and learning about the parshah—which they really are—while gaining invaluable insights and advice from a veteran shadchan at the same time.

And Rabbi Posnick is not your typical shadchan. He is known for his warmth and sensitivity in the way he deals with singles, making them feel validated and understood. This warmth threads its way throughout all of Rabbi Posnick’s writings, which is why so many singles, as well as their parents and those who deal with their shidduchim, enjoy the articles so much.

In the Parshah is a compilation of Rabbi Posnick’s on-the-mark articles on shidduchim and shalom bayis. In these pages, you will discover a plethora of Torah-based advice on these all-important topics. You’ll enjoy reading what Rabbi Posnick has to say, as well as how he says it…and who knows? The guidance he provides may be the very thing you need in order to discover your own zivug…

Besuros tovos by all!

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You’re visiting a friend and her family along with your child. Just as you and your friend have sunk into a delicious conversation over mugs of hot coffee and chocolate-chip cookies, the unmistakable sounds of children fighting fill the air. You watch in horror and mortification as your child lifts his hand to hit your friend’s child; or delivers a sharp kick to the other kid; or begins spitting at him.

As you stand there, begging Hashem to please let the ground open up and swallow you right then and there, your child turns to you and nonchalantly says, “Hey, Ma, can I have a chocolate-chip cookie, too?”

For many children, the knowledge of the right and wrong ways in which to use their hands, feet, and mouth—which to us would seem instinctive—does not come naturally. Such children need to actually be taught these important social skills.

In her capacity as an O.T., Sara Leah Schwartz sees children misusing their hands, feet, and mouth all the time, often because they need stimulation for these body parts and simply haven’t been taught the correct—and incorrect—ways to exercise them. She approached us with the idea of creating a book that would teach children, in rhyme and with illustrations, what they should and should not do with their hands, feet, and mouth. Additionally, she planned to include tips and advice for parents on how to provide proper stimulation for their children’s developing (and thus often restless) limbs.

We at Israel Bookshop Publications were thrilled with the idea and jumped right into the project, which led to the production of Let’s Use Them Right.

In this adorable, rhyming book, your child will learn the appropriate ways in which to use their hands, feet, and mouth, as well as what they should not do with them, in a most enjoyable way. It’s not preachy at all, but it does do a great job at showing children that, for example, there is a time when it’s appropriate and correct to spit (i.e., when they are brushing their teeth) and times when it’s not proper to do so (i.e., all other times).

For all children needing reminders about the proper way to use their hands, feet, and mouth—Let’s Use Them Right is the book of choice!

Click here to purchase online.