Chil­dren’s

Yos­si and Laibel’s Shab­bos Surprise

Dina Rosen­feld; Nor­man Nodel, illus.
  • Review
By – December 8, 2017

Yos­si and Laibel’s Shab­bos Sur­prise by Dina Rosen­feld; Nor­man Nodel, illus. | Jew­ish Book Coun­cil

One of the books from HaChai’s clas­sic Yos­si and Laibel series has now been adapt­ed into a board book for the very young. In this sim­ple tale, the two boys want to help pre­pare the Shab­bos meal for their fam­i­ly, and they cre­ative­ly use what they can find: peanut but­ter, jel­ly, bagels, and apple­sauce. Their grand­moth­er saves the day by walk­ing in the door with more appro­pri­ate fare, but the boys’ offer­ings are accept­ed and appre­ci­at­ed — mak­ing the meal fuller and more fun, and teach­ing them that help, offered whole­heart­ed­ly, is always valued.

Rhyming lan­guage and col­or­ful illus­tra­tions in the spir­it of the sto­ry, with the boys’ good-natured grins, add to its mood of joy.

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 1 to 3.

Michal Hoschan­der Malen is the edi­tor of Jew­ish Book Coun­cil’s young adult and children’s book reviews. A for­mer librar­i­an, she has lec­tured on top­ics relat­ing to lit­er­a­cy, run book clubs, and loves to read aloud to her grandchildren.

Discussion Questions