Rifka Takes A Bow

Rifka's parents are actors in the Yiddish Theater in New York, but one day Rifka finds herself center stage in a special role! A slice of immigrant life on New York's Second Avenue, this is a unique book about a vanished time and a place – the Yiddish theater in the early 20th century―made real through the telling of the true life story of the 96-year-old author as a little girl.

This accessible guide to Jewish children’s literature explores many of the enduring questions of the Jewish tradition: What is Jewish history? What are love, wisdom, humor, ritual, evil, and justice? Jewish children’s literature matters for all children, and with this practical guide parents and teachers will be empowered to choose and discuss books and stories with Jewish or non-Jewish children. Jewish children’s literature is often absent in school classrooms and when it is available, it presents a picture to children of Jews as victims. Enduring Questions provides teachers with guidance in the use of Jewish children’s literature in the preschool and elementary school classroom. Enduring Questions includes extensive bibliographies of Jewish children’s literature, digital resources for teachers, and suggestions for further reading. With summaries of suggested books and texts, honest recommendations from teachers who have used these texts in the classroom, and practical curricular connections, this comprehensive book is suited for those looking for an introduction to teaching Jewish children's literature and those familiar with it. The book provides a framework about the use of Jewish children’s literature as an opportunity for all children, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to be philosophers and engage in dialog and debate. The enduring questions thoughtfully explored through Jewish literature are important for all students growing up in a diverse multicultural world.

Whether used for thematic story times, program and curriculum planning, readers' advisory, or collection development, this updated edition of the well-known companion makes finding the right picture books for your library a breeze. Generations of savvy librarians and educators have relied on this detailed subject guide to children's picture books for all aspects of children's services, and this new edition does not disappoint. Covering more than 18,000 books published through 2017, it empowers users to identify current and classic titles on topics ranging from apples to zebras. Organized simply, with a subject guide that categorizes subjects by theme and topic and subject headings arranged alphabetically, this reference applies more than 1,200 intuitive (as opposed to formal catalog) subject terms to children's picture books, making it both a comprehensive and user-friendly resource that is accessible to parents and teachers as well as librarians. It can be used to identify titles to fill in gaps in library collections, to find books on particular topics for young readers, to help teachers locate titles to support lessons, or to design thematic programs and story times. Title and illustrator indexes, in addition to a bibliographic guide arranged alphabetically by author name, further extend access to titles.

What are plays? How are they different from other kinds of writing? Find out about the parts of a play, including characters, scenes, setting, scripts, stage directions, and dialogue. Then explore different genres, such as musicals, tragedies, comedies, and more!

Behind Sami, the Syrian skyline is full of smoke. The boy follows his family and all his neighbours in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of is his pet pigeons - will they escape too? When they reach a refugee camp and are safe at last, everyone settles into the tent city. But though the children start to play and go to school again, Sami can't join in. When he is given paper and paint, all he can do is smear his painting with black. He can't forget his birds and what his family has left behind. One day a canary, a dove, and a rose finch fly into the camp. They flutter around Sami and settle on his outstretched arms. For Sami it is one step in a long healing process at last. A gentle yet moving story of refugees of the Syrian civil war, My Beautiful Birds illuminates the ongoing crisis as it affects its children. It shows the reality of the refugee camps, where people attempt to pick up their lives and carry on. And it reveals the hope of generations of people as they struggle to redefine home.

""The Saga of Rifka and Herschel" begins in South Africa where Herschel Haverman joins the Frankel family after his parents are murdered in Lithuania. Eventually, Herschel goes to Munich for his rabbinical studies. He rejoins the Frankels in Boston, where Rifka s father, Abraham, marries Rifka to Herschel in a surprise substitution for her sister, Manya. Herschel, betrayed, bitter, and madly in love with Manya, does not restrain his fury and contempt for Rifka and Abraham. Herschel leaves for New York City with his unwanted bride and his first job as a rabbi. Rifka is resourceful as she attempts to win Herschel s love. """New York s complexity and bustle between 1900 and the First World War captivate Rifka s emotional and artistic attention. She discovers the politics of unionism and feminism as these inevitably bear on her effort to create a life of integrity as a rebbetzin with the man she loves. Rifka, a talented painter and the favorite daughter of a rich man, sees in New York lives she didn t know were possible."" " New York was like nowhere else in the world. An unquenchable restlessness, a frontal movement of people and horses, a dynamic flow of humanity, and Rifka was gripped with a burning glow inside her as if the future opened its arms. For the first time she felt she belonged. Every face begged her, paint me. Clouds of Yiddish filtered through the air. Peddlers singing their wares. Young boys pushing along wagons of clothing. Clean-shaven men and immigrant women still wearing their babushkas, an aroma of Jewish magnetism. Dorothy Friedman evokes Jewish characters struggling with love, religious issues, and radical politics. At the core of Rifka is the biblical story of Jacob s being deceived into marrying the wrong bride. For an author bio and photo, reviews and a reading sample, visit bosonbooks.com. "