Apples & Honey Press

The Jewish Book Council today named Salt & Honey and Alone Together on Dan Street as finalists in the 72nd National Jewish Book Awards.

Salt & Honey: Jewish Teens on Feminism, Creativity, & Tradition, edited by Elizabeth Mandel, Emanuelle Sippy, Maya Savin Miller, and Michele Hirsch, with a foreword by Molly Tolsky of Hey Alma and a Reader's

A young girl named Debbie moves with her parents across the country, far from her close-knit large extended family. She feels unmoored in the new city, searching for connection, until she finally finds it at a Jewish sleepaway camp. There she finds community and music that stirs her soul. She learns to play guitar - and in turn, makes history.

A Place to Belong, by Deborah Lakritz and illustrated by Julia Castaño, tells the story of Debbie Friedman, and how her quest to connect with her feelings and tradition led her to become one of the most famous Jewish musicians of our time. 

Her songs "married traditional Jewish texts to contemporary folk-infused melodies, and is credited with helping give ancient liturgy broad appeal to late-20th-century worshippers,"

Why do we keep telling the story of our people from one generation to the next?

Each time we retell stories from the Bible, we learn something about ourselves and our relationships. These stories also encourage critical thinking skills in our students and help them understand important Jewish values that continue to guide us today.

There are many Bible resources that help children explore the deeper meaning and shape how they live that learning in the world.

For example, if the curriculum is focused on early Torah stories, you can use a core text such as The Explorer’s Bible or Teach Me Torah. Then engage new perspectives by layering in other elements, like a storybook

Saralee Siegel can do extraordinary things with her super-nose.

She also loves to cook and help out in her family’s restaurant.

In the latest story in the chapter book series, A Donut in Time: A Hanukkah Story, Saralee is stunned to learn that she's not the only one in the family with a superpower. Her great-grandmother Gigi also had a magical sense of smell. And when Saralee makes Gigi's Hanukkah donut recipe, the scent creates a portal in time.

Soon Saralee finds herself face-to-face with a young Gigi – and she's not the fierce, unstoppable person Saralee imagined. Gigi is ready to give up on her dreams. Saralee needs to help her find courage, or the future will be changed forever.

This is the third book in the Saralee Siegel series, written by Elana Rubinstein and illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar. Eac

Most children love sweets. Two just-released Hanukkah stories centered on the kitchen serve up a portion of holiday fun.

NEW!

There's a new crop of monster-ific new storybooks from Apples & Honey Press featuring kids and creatures learning to navigate family relationships.

 NEW!

How to Be a Mensch by A. Monster

Think you know the stories of Abraham and Sarah and Eve and Moses?

The Bible only tells us part of their stories.

Imagine seeing the full picture. Maybe we’d discover that Adam and Eve were challenging the rules, growing up, or that Noah felt fearful and angry, desperate for any kind of hope. 

Or maybe we’d find out that Moses felt dread at being asked to lead the Israelites

Maybe these iconic figures of the Bible were people just like us, filled with fear and joy, jealousy and passion, mischief and love. 

Maybe It Happened this Way, by Rabbi Leah Berkowitz and Erica Wovsaniker, is a modern take on Bible stories, with relatable characters; not earnest and reverent, but not transgressive either.

It also helps students understand the difference between the biblical text and the Jewish concept of midrash - stories created to add new layers to our understanding of the Bible.

“With this book,

Looking for a new way to introduce Rosh Hashanah to young children? Two new stories add to our collection of storybooks that will get them smiling, laughing, and making connections to the holiday and their Jewish world.  

NEW!

Miriam and the Sasquatch

By Eric A. Kimmel
Illustrated by Tamara Anegon

Ages 4-7

Join Miriam as she seeks to solve her sasquatch dilemma, and in the process learns that our initial impressions of others may be a bit mistaken.

NEW! 

Here are some new stories coming in early September from our children's imprint, Apples & Honey Press. Click each book cover to pre-order now.

Dance the Hora, Isadora
By Gloria Koster
Illustrated by Barbara Bongini

Chloe is our step-dance star. Tap-tap go her toes. Up go her knees, reaching almost as high as her chin.

When Chloe finished her routine last week, I felt Madame's eyes on me. "Isadora, would you like a turn? she asked.

More than anything,