Shoham's Bangle

by Sarah Sassoon, Noa Kelner (Illustrator)

Overview

A Sydney Taylor Notable Book

Winner of the Crystal Kite Award

Tablet Magazine's Best Jewish Kids Books of the Year

Shoham's bangle jingles and jangles, clinks and clacks.

Shoham wears a golden bangle on her wrist, just like her Nana Aziza. Their bangles jingle when they cook, and glitter in the sun. When Shoham and her family must leave Iraq, they are allowed to take only one suitcase each. They may take no jewelry. Shoham has the important job of carrying Nana’s homemade pita bread, which Nana says they will eat when they get to Israel. But when they finally arrive and it is time to eat, Shoham bites into something hard inside the pita bread.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728438962
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.31(d)
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sarah Sassoon grew up in Sydney, Australia where she learnt to cook t’bit with her grandmother, Nana Aziza. She is a writer, poet and educator, and author of the children’s picture book Shoham’s Bangle. Sarah lives in Jerusalem where she regularly cooks t’bit for her husband and four hungry boys.

Noa Kelner graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design. She works with book publishers, newspapers, and magazines, and loves to give stories color and form. She is the co-founder and artistic director of the annual "Outline – Illustration and Words" festival in Jerusalem and also teaches illustration. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

"A lovely introduction to Iraqi Jewry and its own exodus."—Sydney Taylor Shmooze

From the Publisher

2022-07-13
The bangles that Shoham and their grandmother wear may be small, but they mean so very much.

Shoham and Nana Aziza have a special and loving relationship. They gaze at the stars together, cook and bake together, and pick figs from their tree in the garden. Shoham wears one bangle; Nana Aziza wears many. Nana Aziza teaches Shoham how to cut round cookies using a bangle or to move a bangle from one wrist to the other to help remember something important. Shoham is told that the family will be emigrating from Iraq to Israel, which Shoham’s father has been praying for (in an author’s note, Sassoon states that in 1951 her own grandmother, her grandfather, and their children—along with 120,000 other Iraqi Jews—were airlifted to Israel under Operation Ezra & Nehemiah). An overhead view of the very small suitcase that must hold the belongings of eight people signifies, simply and poignantly, what the family values as they move to their new lives. No jewelry is allowed, however, and Shoham is told that the bangles must be left behind. But Nana Aziza finds a way to put things right, and eventually Shoham settles into their new home while never forgetting their old one. Passengers on the plane are crowded into their seats; the thoughtfully drawn faces reflect a variety of emotions: fear, worry, happiness, hope, and love. Shoham and their family are brown-skinned and Jewish. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A moving and authentic story of love, family, and home. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews