A Turkish Rosh Hashanah

by Etan Basseri, Zeynep ïzatalay (Illustrator)

Overview

It's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Rafael and his cousins are shopping in the busy Turkish market for the ingredients for their family's Sephardic celebration. The cousins' adventures require courage, teamwork, and help from some four-legged friends!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781962011976
Publisher:	Kalaniot Books
Publication date:	08/06/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.92(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Etan Basseri was born and raised in Berkeley, California with a mix of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish customs. He now lives in Seattle with his wife and children. A Turkish Rosh Hashanah is his second book. His critically acclaimed first book, A Persian Passover, was an Association of Jewish Libraries Holiday Highlights suggested title.

Zeynep Özatalay is a Turkish illustrator. She uses her art as a way of expressing her ideas and feelings. The natural world is her inspiration. Zeynep lives on an island in Istanbul with many cats, horses, and seagulls. Can you find some of these animals on the pages of this book?

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2024

PreS-Gr 2—Three cousins in traditional Turkish garb meet their grandmother at a market in Istanbul to shop for food for Rosh Hashanah. Nona sends the young cousins with money to get some of the items. While they are gone, they feed some cats and encounter a bully who smashes one of their pomegranates. The bully is allergic to cats, starts sneezing, and runs into a barrel of fish scraps, bringing even more cats. Later that day, the family gathers at Nona's house for the holiday, and Nona reinforces the meaning of each of the foods on their plates. Basseri's charming story is peppered with Ladino words, and Özatalay's illustrations complement the text with details and many colorful hues in the clothing and furnishings of a Sephardic family in Turkey. Back matter includes a glossary of Ladino words, a history of Jewish life in Turkey, and other facts about Rosh Hashanah. VERDICT A solid addition to any collection to show the diversity in Jewish cultures.—Jennifer Sontag

School Library Journal