Monthly Archives: February 2023

Enjoy these simple, ready-to-go activities focused on Purim and its big themes. 

For Youngest Learners

Movement and mindfulness

Try this activity about bravery - a Purim theme. Tell children to tilt their heads up and stand straight and tall. Or try making strong muscles in their arms. Invite children to make brave poses. Encourage them to notice where in their bodies they feel brave. (in my muscles; in my heart; my brain; my arms and legs) Suggest they try another pose and see if their brave feeling changes too. Have them create a pose that shows what bravery feels like in their body. (This activity comes from the Let’s Discover the Holidays series of 4-page folders.)

Story time

Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen has joined Behrman House/Apples & Honey Press as Editor.

She will be acquiring and developing children’s trade books with a focus on enduring values and Jewish identity and culture, as well as Jewish educational and adult interest titles.

The author of eight picture books, including the Engineer Ari series, and a teen novel, her writing has received recognition including Sydney Taylor Honors, PJ Library selections, and Scholastic Book Fair Selections.

Her connection to Behrman House goes back to 1994 when she was a researcher for Jewish Heroes, Jewish Values, by Rabbi Barry Schwartz. A contributor to Israel, It’s Complicated, she also has authored a number of Behrman House teacher guides.  She is currently working on The Heroes Haggadah, which will be published by Behrman House in 2024.

Yom HaShoah begins this year on April 17. 

Each passing year brings on a greater urgency to recall this dark time in our history. With fewer living witnesses able to tell their stories firsthand, we need a new way to fulfill the responsibility that Holocaust survivors have entrusted to us - to remember, to tell the story, and to act. 

Plan now using a powerful new approach.

Light from the Darkness: A Ritual for Holocaust Remembrance is a 45-minute, structured seder-like experience that helps the next generations remember and honor the Holocaust. It can be done either in-person or virtually. And it is deeply moving.

“It’s out

The holiday offers an entryway to helping students explore the Jewish values of Bal Tashchit (“do not destroy”), bettering the environment and creating a greener, more abundant world for themselves and for others.

Purim is just around the corner. 

Two new stories are coming out February 7 to entertain and inspire children this holiday.

Purr-im Time!

By Jenna Waldman, illustrated by Erica Chen

In this happy, rhyming romp a group of exuberant kittens get into some feline mischief as they celebrate Purim and explain the holiday to young children.

"A welcome addition for secular and religious collections alike." --School Library Journal

"Filled with movement and joy" --Kirkus Reviews