Molly ConeRecensioni

Stories and quotations show the Jewish view of the environment in statements from the Torah such as "Care for the trees" and "All living things are connected"

Visit to a home garden. In Spanish.

A dog gets into funny situations.

2nd Scholastic printing.

A fifth-grade class decides to adopt Pigeon Creek and clean it up, and restock it with baby salmon. Through the unit, students learn a lot about ecology and the needs and life cycle of salmon. Many people tell them that the salmon will never return to Pigeon Creek, but in the end, the salmon do return the next year. I would use this in my lesson, to show the class how our classroom salmon will go through the same process.

I'll admit I bought Reeney because I like Charles Geer's illustrations. Reeney Johnson is a high school sophomore whose mother has just died. The book opens with the family coming home after Mrs. Johnson's funeral. Aside from her father and her older brother, Matt, there are also Uncle Eddie and Aunt Ada. This is a story aimed at teen girls, so we aren't told much about them, not even if they're married to each other or to which parent one or both is a sibling.
The main thing to know is that Aunt Ada is willing to come keep house for the Johnsons and Uncle Eddie is fine with that. Aunt Ada is so bossy that Reeney and Matt are horrified at the thought of living under the same roof with her.

This is 1963, so it's up to Reeney to volunteer to cook and keep house for her family. She's going to do this even though she's got school and a steady boyfriend. What's Matt going to do? Polish his car.

Reeney makes plenty of mistakes in the kitchen and the housekeeping. Matt seems to delight in not cleaning up after himself. Something has to go from Reeney's busy life. It's the orchestra she drops for more time with Steve.

Good thing there's next-door neighbor Mrs. Turner to teach Reeney the finer points of housekeeping and making a good pie (skills the target audience would have been expected to learn).

Reeney has been so focused on keeping house well enough to fend off Aunt Ada, keep her grades up, and giving Steve the admiration he craves that she fails to notice Matt is falling apart. The crisis comes during a weekend when their father has to be out of town on business. Can Reeney get her priorities straight?

There's nothing about drugs or Civil Rights in this book, but I am pleased that Reeney kept up with her grades and figured Steve out. I was still in elementary school when this book came out, but I remember housework and cooking without today's labor-saving devices. If you like glimpses into the past, you might enjoy this novel.

Published by UAHC (Union of American Hebrew Congregations) Press, this attractively-produced book introduces children to the Ten Commandments, as they are understood by Reform Judaism. Each chapter begins with a discussion of a Commandment, its different levels of meaning, and includes a folktale that demonstrates the relevant lesson.

I discovered this book in the sources notes of Peninnah Schram's The Hungry Clothes and Other Jewish Folktales, and initially approached it from a folkloric perspective. It is impossible however, to divorce these tales from their religious subtext, which is perhaps why they are such effective teaching tools. Despite the fact that it is aimed at Jewish children, I found that I - an adult, non-practicing Christian woman with serious theological questions - gained a new appreciation for this foundational set of "rules," and their deeper meaning. The tales include:

Commandment I: The Reminder, in which a king promises God that he will not forget where he came from...

Commandment II: The Princess Who Wanted to See God, in which a princess learns that she will find God when she learns compassion...

Commandment III: A Place Called Kushta, in which a king seeks to learn the secret of the eternal youth of the people of Kushta...

Commandment IV: The Sweetest Sound, in which a king learns to value the silence of the Sabbath...

Commandment V: A Big Red Tomato, in which a man who hopes to become an adoptive father learns the importance of honoring his parents...

Commandment VI: His Name Was Chaim, in which a wealthy man discovers that no amount of money will be enough to bribe Chaim to take a man's life...

Commandment VII: The Promise, in which a foolish young man learns that his wife is wiser than he, when it comes to interpreting their marriage vows...

Commandment VIII: The Reward, in which an unscrupulous young man who attempts to fool King Solomon is given the reward he deserves...

Commandment IX: The Gossip, in which the town gossip learns that unkind comments can never be taken back... This folktale of a wise rabbi who uses feathers to teach a lesson can be found in many collections.

Commandment X: The Peach, the Pitcher, and the Fur Coat, in which a young boys longs for his elderly neighbor's possessions...

Rebuilding a treehouse in Israel after a boy moves from the USA

The true story of Henrietta Szold, the oldest daughter of a Baltimore rabbi, who grew up to teach, work with immigrants, and become the first female to enter a theological seminary.

A young persons novel about how a sister responds to her brother's Bar Mitzvah.

It is Friday evening, and the sun is about to set. If you are Jewish, you are probably getting ready to light candles, say blessings, and eat delicious food. What is the special occasion? It is the Sabbath, or the Day of Rest. The Bible tells how God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day God rested. This day was called the Sabbath. Molly Cone's clear, informative text and Emily Lisker's warm paintings present the cultural and historical origins of the Sabbath and the many meaningful traditions that are still practiced today. Instructions for making your own challah bread and challah cover round out this celebration of a very special day of thanks, rest, and renewal.

this is a test

Use this non-fiction picture book about ecology to set up a class project with cleaning up a river. A fifth grade class adopts a polluted river to clean it up and to raise salmon to swim in the river again. After reading this book you'll be wanting to roll up your sleeves and rally the students to take on a clean-up project. Writing may involve making charts, keeping tallies, journalling activities, and writing letters to board members or city council.

NO OF PAGES: 29 SUB CAT I: Children's Resources SUB CAT II: Shabbat SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: It is Friday evening, and the sun is about to set. If you are Jewish, you are probably getting ready to light candles, say blessings, and eat delicious food. What is the special occasion? It is the Sabbath, or the Day of Rest. The Bible tells how God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day God rested. This day was called the Sabbath. Molly Cone's clear, informative text and Emily Lisker's warm paintings present the cultural and historical origins of the Sabbath and the many meaningful traditions that are still practiced today. Instructions for making your own challah bread and challah cover round out this celebration of a very special day of thanks, rest, and renewal.NOTES: Purchased from "The Book Market" discount books. SUBTITLE: