Challah, Challah for You and Me

Barbara Bietz is an award-winning author of Jewish books for children. Several of her books are PJ Library/PJ Our Way selections. Barbara created the website Jewish Books for Kids where she interviews authors, illustrators, editors, and more. Barbara has served as chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards committee (Association of Jewish Libraries). She is currently the Assistant Regional Advisor of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in the Central California Region. She lives in Oak Park, California. June Sobel is the author of more than a dozen picture books for young children, including The Goodnight Train (Clarion Books), a best-selling bedtime story series.  Barbara Bietz and June co-authored Apples, Apples, All Year Round (Apples & Honey Press, 2022), a rollicking, rhyming journey about apples and the joy of Jewish holiday celebrations. This book received the PJ Library Author Incentive Award.  A graduate of Skidmore College and Stanford University, June lives in Westlake Village, California. Ruth Waters creates illustrations using collage, decorating the paper by hand using brushes, rollers - even old toothbrushes - to create unique textures. As an author/illustrator she has five published picture books and been shortlisted for the World Illustration Awards 2019 and 2020, Children's Book Category. She lives in England.

"Fol­low­ing their 2022 pub­li­ca­tion of the charm­ing book Apples, Apples, All Year Round, which was also aimed at preschool­ers, Bar­bara Bietz and June Sobel are now offer­ing us a sweet look at chal­lah, the bread most peo­ple asso­ciate with Jew­ish life and Shab­bat cel­e­bra­tions. The authors rein­force these asso­ci­a­tions through live­ly text, lilt­ing rhythm and rhyme, and col­or­ful art depict­ing friend­ly ani­mals, deli­cious treats, Shab­bat close­ness, and a vari­ety of Juda­ic symbols.All the salient fea­tures of chal­lah are includ­ed: its squishi­ness, sweet­ness, warmth, col­or, and, most impor­tant, its asso­ci­a­tion with rit­u­al and the par­tic­i­pa­tion of car­ing fam­i­ly mem­bers and friends. These details pro­vide read­ers and lis­ten­ers alike with a sense of com­fort and joy.In a short after­word, the authors explain the bless­ings on the chal­lah and remind us to be grate­ful for the bread we eat every day—to appre­ci­ate the sat­is­fac­tion of sit­ting around the table and shar­ing chal­lah with fam­i­ly on any occa­sion at all."—Jewish Book Council"Rhymed text and a host of North American woodland animals celebrate the tastiness of different kinds of challah: traditional braided challah for Shabbat, round for the New Year, rainbow, heart shaped. Whatever the style or recipe, it’s noted that the leftovers are delicious, and the best thing to do with challah is to share it with family and friends.This will be a fun family book for younger readers; preschools and libraries serving Jewish patrons will appreciate it. Bold print and vivid illustrations stand out on clean backgrounds." —Association of Jewish Libraries