The l-o-n-g summer Shabbos afternoons are upon us now, with many hours of leisure time to fill. And if you’re a reader like me, what could be a more delicious way of relaxing than with a great new novel that you can sink your teeth into? Pair that with a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade and a comfy hammock in the shade, and…ahhh…nothing like it!

So, with all of you, my fellow book-lovers out there, in mind, we present to you our latest novel, Reality Check. This is a book that I recommend for those times when you want to just cuddle up on the couch (or in that hammock), forget your worries, and allow your mind to drift up, up, and away, into the heads and world of a fantastic bunch of realistic yet fictitious characters.

Written by popular magazine columnist Faigy Peritzman, Reality Check has all the ingredients of an excellent, wholesome read: there’s lots of emotion in it; the issues brought up are close to many of our hearts; the dialogue is realistic yet refreshing; and there’s a great ending, too.

So when you’re out doing your shopping for Shabbos this week, don’t forget to make one more stop—at your local Jewish bookstore—and pick up this book. It’s guaranteed to provide you with lots of enjoyment, whether on Shabbos or at any time!

Click here to purchase online.

Yaffa Ganz is back, with a fantastic new read for your voracious young reader! Longtime much-beloved author that she is, Yaffa needs absolutely no introduction—her name alone bespeaks quality writing for readers of all ages, especially kids.

In All Kinds of Kids, this talented writer focuses on an imaginary town named Pleasantville, where there are kids of all kinds—from A to Z! You’ll meet Eager Ezra, Helpful Hinda, Fearless Faigie, Noisy Nachum, and the rest of the exciting bunch, and have a grand time doing so, while learning lots of important lessons throughout it all!

A great gift idea for that special 6-9-year-old in your life!

Click here to view sample pages and to purchase online.

If you just laughed when you saw the title of this book and thought to yourself, Boy, do I know that phrase well! then we’re pretty sure you’re going to want to buy this book for your little pre-schoolers…

I mean, let’s face it—you love your kids and all, but when they’re kvetching about how bored they are and nagging you about, “What should we do?” …well, it can get rough. So, for all you worn-out moms out there, here’s a book that addresses this very issue!

In Mommy, I’m Bored! your kids will meet Uncle Izzy, a beloved character whose goal is to teach kids how to always keep busy! And wait till you see the activities Uncle Izzy has up his sleeve… Playing dress-up, doing exercise, even cleaning the house—Uncle Izzy’s got a whole bunch of ideas young kids can do at home when they’re bored. Written in charming rhymes and illustrated with the most adorable pictures, Mommy, I’m Bored! is a book that will surely delight and entertain your little ones so that they are bored no longer!

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There are different types of novels out there. Some are the roller-coaster, spine-tingling ones, the ones with cloak-and-dagger material and guns and spies and shadows; the ones not intended for the faint of heart. Others are the exact opposite: nice, light reading for your reading relaxation needs. Then there is another type of novel—a well-written, contemporary story, with believable characters who have realistic challenges and issues…and an unmistakable, strong message interwoven throughout. When you read this book, you are definitely being enthralled and entertained—yet when you finish it, you don’t feel like, Why did I just waste my time reading this story? The inspirational lessons brought out in the book leave you with much food for thought, even long after you’ve turned the last page.

Where Wild Marigolds Grow is this type of novel. It’s a great book—readers of all types will agree to that—yet it doesn’t leave you feeling empty after you’ve finished reading it. To the contrary, this is a book that you’ll be hashing about with your friends over a cup of coffee. Hot topics are taken up and brutally examined; the deepest subconscious thoughts of the characters are not pushed aside, but are brought to the table and dealt with in an honest and thorough way. Leah, Miriam, their husbands, and all the rest of the cast come alive in readers’ minds in a very real way, as readers find themselves relating to these characters, whether because of their life experiences, challenges, or the growth processes they, too, have gone through.

For all thinking readers of today’s day and age—Where Wild Marigolds Grow is a book you’ll find yourselves devouring again and again.

Click here to purchase online.

If you have a 2 ½ year old kid who you’re thinking of toilet training, I have three things to tell you. Number one: Good luck! Number two: Good luck! And number three: Good luck!

No, seriously, I have a little boy around toilet training age, too, and I’m dragging my feet to begin the process. I know from past experience with other kids that toilet training a child is far from fun!

Well, at least that’s what I had thought up until last week, when I brought home the adorable new children’s book on toilet training, I Can Go By Myself, and began reading it to my little one. Suddenly, toilet training didn’t seem so terrible after all.

We giggled our way through each set of rhymes, stopping to admire the charming illustrations before turning to the next page. Then, when we finished reading it, I was commanded to, “Read again!” And so read again I did…and then another time…and then once more… Pretty soon, my son and I were chanting the rhymes together by heart, and he was running to show me that he also knew what to do in the bathroom.

While I Can Go By Myself will not train your kid for you (if there is a book out there that does, please let me know about it!), it will introduce him to the concept of using the bathroom in an extremely fun, child-friendly, and most importantly, kosher and refined way. The entire toilet training process is described in adorable rhymes, with illustrations that are so cute, you almost want to pinch the little character’s cheek.

By far, my child’s most popular line was about “zooming zippity-zip, to the bathroom like a rocket ship” in order to stay dry. And you know what? If he wants to go around the house chanting that over and over, I’m all for it…it just might sink in!

In any case, once you read this book, too, I’m sure you’ll agree with me: I Can Go By Myself is a one-of-a-kind children’s book in the Jewish market, and it will significantly enhance and even accelerate the entire toilet training process for your child. Buy it for your child, read it to him…and may you have lots of hatzlachah with the whole training experience!

Click here to purchase online.

“Hi, I’m calling about an idea for a new manuscript?”

“Okay,” says I, “what’s it about?”

“Well, it’s a new idea…a much-needed, new kind of thing in the frum world.”

Now I’m intrigued. What could this “much-needed, new kind of book” be?

“Well,” says the aspiring author, “you know how there are so many secular I-Can-Read books out there? You know the kind of books I’m talking about—where the book is simple enough for a beginning, first-grade reader to read to himself, but whose words become progressively longer and harder as the child’s reading improves? So, my idea was: why not create some Jewish I-Can-Read books? This way, when our kids will be using these books during their learning-to-read process, parents can be assured that they will be picking up kosher values at the same time.”

And I’m nodding my head and saying, “Sounds great! You’re in good company, you know!”

Because we’ve probably gotten this call—or a version of it—at least half a dozen times. Every parent and educator, it seems, wants frum I-Can-Read books for their primary and first grade kids.

The problem, however, was that no one had ever actually done anything about the idea at all, other than suggest it to us or send us a vague kind of manuscript. That is, until two very talented and ambitious reading specialists, Mrs. Esti Weiss and Mrs. Faigy Rosenberg, came along with their Step-by-Step Reading Series.

This series that they created is the answer to many a Jewish parent and educator’s wish. The books in this series are designed to parallel the standard curriculum goals set in place in the school system, while providing fun and culturally appropriate stories for your budding reader at the same time. The first two books in this series, Eli’s Bags and Is Dovid Big?, have just been released, and are sure to take parents and educators by storm with their delightful way of building and enhancing children’s reading skills.

Is six-year-old Shloimy begging you to read books with him? Give him these fun, skill-building reading books—and watch his eyes sparkle!

Click here to purchase online.

You know how, back when you were in school, the teachers used meshalim left and right to explain different concepts to the class? I know that my Chumash and Navi notes were always full of the terms “mashal” and “nimshal,” both the ones that Chazal teach us and the ones the teachers came up with on their own in order to clarify whatever point they were trying to make. Of course I can only speak for myself, but those lessons taught via these meshalim were usually the ones I understood—and remembered—best.

There’s definitely something about the mashal that makes it such a powerful tool in the hands of teachers and storytellers—and this power of the mashal becomes even more apparent when it comes to children. Fables, especially, with foxes that are hungry, frogs that are jealous, and clever chickens and birds, are extremely popular with youngsters. When a child hears a story about a weak chick who comes up with a plan and outsmarts a wily (and of course hungry) fox, that truly drives home the message that intelligence and forethought are superior to physical strength. And the downfall of the traitorous bat, who turned against his friends in order to ensure that he remain on the winning side, speaks louder than words about the importance of loyalty.

If you’re in agreement with me as of this far, then you will absolutely love the newest kids book we have just released out on the market, a book called A Mashal and a Message. This beautifully-illustrated, extra-large-sized book is a collection of eleven of the meshalim of Rav Berachya ben Rav Natronai Hanakdan, a master of meshalim who lived during the Middle Ages and authored the sefer Mishlei Shualim (“Fox Fables”). In this book, Rabbi Avrohom Ochayon presents these meshalim to young readers in an age-appropriate way that they can comprehend and enjoy.

Who says learning important lessons for life can’t be fun? Sit back and read this book to your child—and let the magic of the mashal overtake you…

For those craving an excellent historical novel, a book that provides a breathtaking glimpse into another era, even as it entertains you with its goosebump-raising tale…well, well, have we got the book of the season for you…!

This is a classic that has been out of print for way too long. Now, finally, it has come back in print, complete with a new look and updated front cover. Avrohom Ben Avrohom is the spellbinding, heart-wrenching story of the legendary ger tzedek of Vilna, who lived during the upheavals that were so much a part of Jewish life in the Ashkenazic communities of mid-eighteenth-century Europe. Amidst the heart-stopping tale of the young cardinal-to-be who discovers Judaism and converts at a risk to his life, though never dreaming what the outcome of his decision would eventually turn out to be, readers are introduced to the Torah giants of that generation, including Rav Yechezkel Landau, Rav Yonasan Eibschutz, Rav Yaakov Emden, and the Vilna Gaon, in a fascinating way.

You will love the twists and turns Avrohom Ben Avrohom will take you on. For years and years, many readers have been riveted by this emotion-laden and suspenseful book. Now it’s your turn to sink your teeth into it. Just be prepared to give yourself a big chunk of reading time for the book, as this is one read you will not be putting down until the very last page!

Click here to purchase online.

I remember that book report quite clearly. I was in the sixth grade at the time, and my English teacher was extremely fond of assigning book reports, doing so on a monthly basis at least. I’ve always been a voracious reader, so reading all those books was something I could handle…but the problem was that the books had to be ones that we’d never read before. Otherwise, for all the teacher knew, we could be writing up whole book reports based on books that we’d read three years ago. (Never underestimate the memory of a child, you know!)

Back then, Jewish books weren’t coming out every few weeks. So every book report assignment found me wracking my brains, trying to find a book that I hadn’t yet read.

I think it was my father who suggested I read Baron Korff. Even back then (with all these “back then’s,” by now you probably think I’m ancient… but really, I still have some time for that, b’ezras Hashem!), it was considered a classic, and I had to track down someone who still owned a copy of it. Once I’d done that and read the book, though, I was glad I’d gone to the trouble of finding it—it was a phenomenal book.

There was nothing petty or modern-day about this book; this was the real deal—a novel with fully fashioned characters such as a guilt-ridden Russian baron, a perceptive Galician count, a wise old rabbi, and of course the main character, Abram, who began his life as an abandoned Christian baby boy…

Like I said, I loved every minute reading this book—and now you can have this same enjoyment, too! After years of being out of print, Baron Korff –with a new look due to its updated front cover—is now once again being released and put back onto the shelves of your local bookstore!

This is a classic that has never lost its charm. Read it, and you’ll agree. Whether you’ve read this book in the past and are buying it for the nostalgia it evokes within you, or for your kids to read as a kind of “ma’aseh avos siman la’banim”; or you’re young enough to have never heard of Baron Korff and are buying it simply out of curiosity (what is this book about anyway, that they were going on and on about it in that article?), this is a purchase you will not regret having made!

Click here to purchase online.