Jewish themes for children

ANNA LEVINE

From a room in the basement of her home in suburban Washington, D.C., Judyth Groner never imagined that the Passover Haggadah she wrote for her children would flourish into a full-fledged publishing company. Today, Kar-Ben Copies Inc. has a list of award-winning books and an international reputation.

Like many well-known writers, Groner began her career with a file folder of rejections. In 1974, when her firstborn was three years old, she noticed that there were few Jewish children’s books, so she wrote My Very Own Haggadah: A Children’s Passover Service. She approached her friend, Madeline Wikler, who added the illustrations. When no mainstream publisher would accept it, they decided to self-publish – before the age of computers and Amazon.

As a Purim book, then a Chanukah book, followed, they caught the attention of others who were writing Jewish-content material for children but had nowhere to publish.

“A computer, a warehouse and employees soon followed,” said Groner, which paved their way to becoming a publisher. For the next 25 years, they learned by doing. Today, Kar-Ben Copies (named after Groner’s son Ben and Wikler’s daughter Karen) has since been sold to Lerner Publishing Group and has an impressive list of Jewish-themed, award-winning books for children.

Times have changed for the publishing industry since the 1970s. “Once I would sit and wait for manuscripts to arrive,” said Groner. “Now, I turn to writers with ideas. I want books that reflect the American Jewish community today, focusing on issues of intermarriage, divorce and other non-traditional families. I don’t think the shtetl stories we grew up on are relevant to today’s reader.”

So what sparks Groner’s interest? How does she recognize a winner from the hundreds of manuscripts she receives and reads?

Groner tells the story of how she was at the Jewish film festival in Washington in 1974,where she saw a documentary film called Paper Clips, a story related the Holocaust. Her first reaction was to turn to Wikler and say, “We’ve got to do a book on this.” She waited for the credits of the film and followed up by approaching journalists Peter and Dagmar Schroeder.

The Schroeders, now living in Victoria, B.C., were working in Washington when they heard about students in a school in rural Tennessee who were studying the effects of intolerance and prejudice in a Holocaust education class. In order to better understand the number six million, they decided to collect six million paper clips. The Schroeders became involved in the project, writing articles and sending letters to encourage people to participate in the collection. The project grew, and the Schroeders were instrumental in bringing a railcar from Germany back to Tennessee to house the paper clips and serve as a Holocaust monument.

Though the Schroeders had already written a book when Groner approached them, it was, in her opinion, 15,000 words too long. Groner worked with the couple to turn it into a 3,000-word picture book. Six Million Paper Clips has now sold more than 50,000 copies.

Groner and Wikler, along with the staff at Kar-Ben and Lerner Publishing Group turn out more than a dozen Jewish-themed books a year. Having lived in Israel, Groner has a special attachment to the country: from olive picks to archeological digs, she is always on the lookout for books set in the country. My book, Jodie’s Hanukkah Dig, is set in Modi’in and, when Groner read it as a short story, she said, “We’ve got to do a book about this!” And we did.

Here’s a selection of some of their recommended reading for Chanukah for kids ages five to nine, all of which can be ordered at karben.com.

Jodie’s Hanukkah Dig by Anna Levine, illustrated by Ksenia Topaz. When Jodie begs her dad to take her on an archeological dig, he agrees to take her to Modi’in, the ancient home of the Maccabees. When she volunteers to explore an underground cave, she learns that she and the Maccabees, the heroes of the Chanukah story, have something in common.

Jeremy’s Dreidel by Ellie Gellman, illustrated by Maria Mola. At the dreidel-making workshop, Jeremy’s friends think he’s molding a secret code on his clay dreidel, but he’s really making a special gift for his father, who is blind. How will he get his friends to appreciate his special dreidel?

Engineer Ari and the Hanukkah Mishap by Deborah Bodin Cohen, illustrated by Shahar Kober. Hurrying home to celebrate Chanukah, Engineer Ari screeches his train to a halt to avoid hitting a camel sitting on the tracks. The camel’s Bedouin owner invites Ari to his tent to await help, where the two have an impromptu Chanukah celebration, and become friends.

The Count’s Hanukkah Countdown by Ellen Fischer, illustrated by Tom Leigh. At a Chanukah party on Sesame Street, Grover and the Count welcome visiting Israeli Muppet friends Brosh and Avigail, tell the story of Chanukah, feast on latkes and learn that eight is the perfect Chanukah number.

Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue by Heidi Smith Hyde, illustrated by Jamel Akib. Angry that his father is afraid to light the Chanukah candles, Emanuel stows away on a whaling ship. When a storm overtakes the boat, it is his father’s change of heart and the family menorah that light the way home.

Anna Levine was born and raised in Canada and has lived in Israel for more than 20 years. She writes young adult novels, children’s books, short stories, poetry and, most recently, plays. Her published work is available in Canada through Chapters/Indigo or annalevine.org.

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