Rahele Jomepour Bell – illustratör

A heartwarming picture book following a group of boys from different backgrounds throughout the school year as they become the best of friends.Musa’s feeling nervous about his first day of school. He’s not used to being away from home and he doesn’t know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moisés, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn’t sure they’ll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can’t imagine any better friends. In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering a new friendship with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself brings people together. And the calendar of holidays at the end of the book will delight children as they identify special events they can celebrate with friends throughout the year.

Musa and his friends return to share their favorite days of the week and why each one is special to them in this sweet and heartwarming picture book sequel to Our Favorite Day of the Year.Musa is excited to see his classmates at the start of the week, but when he sees Zohra looking sad and asks her why, he discovers Zohra is missing her favorite day of the week! She loves Tuesday, when her neighborhood sanitation workers come around. Musa’s other classmates have favorite days too: Zadie’s favorite day is Thursday, when her grandma picks her up from school.Mo’s favorite day is Friday, when he and his family have Shabbat dinner.Moíses’s favorite day is Sunday, when he gets to play fútbol with his cousins. In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering discussions with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself bring friends together. And a note about the origins of the days of the week at the end of the book will delight children as they identify their favorite day!

A young child tells us what makes her angry and how she tries to let the anger come and go. An artful starting point for conversations about strong feelings.“I get angry,” says a little girl, looking fiercely in the mirror. Sometimes she gets angry when someone is mean and tries to take her toy away, when it feels unfair that there’s not enough time to go swimming, when she’s tired and just wants to go home, or when the kids at school leave her out, hurting her feelings.When she’s angry, she tries to remember to use her words — even though that doesn’t always work. Sometimes she can’t find the right words, or the words don’t come out the way she intends. But sometimes words do help, and when her anger melts away a new feeling can blossom.Sandra Feder’s cleverly constructed text presents different situations in which a child might feel angry, creating a nuanced look at anger and its many underlying emotions. Rahele Jomepour Bell’s illustrations show a loveable, angry little girl, brimming with personality, who learns how to express herself as she moves through her feelings. Key Text Featuresdialogueexplanationillustrationsvignettes Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

A young child tells us about the different times when he feels peaceful, as well as how he copes when he needs to find a peaceful state again.Acclaimed picture-book creators Sandra V. Feder and Rahele Jomepour Bell have teamed up once again to create a thoughtful and beautifully illustrated exploration of peacefulness.“I like feeling peaceful,” the young narrator tells us, then describes the times when he is filled with this emotion. When he is playing with a friend, he feels “free peaceful”; when he is having family dinner, “yummy peaceful”; when he is outside gazing up at the sky, “fluffy clouds peaceful". But, of course, he doesn’t always feel peaceful, and we hear about his strategies for coping during those times, such as taking deep breaths, imagining his favorite things, and finding a quiet refuge or a hug.Peaceful Me is the perfect companion to Angry Me — together, they encourage readers to let anger come and go, while inviting peace to come and stay.Key Text FeaturesexplanationillustrationsvignettesCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.