One More Story, Tata!

The illustrations throughout this really stood out, particularly on the pages with Tata’s stories from her dreams. It really helped us to picture the words and talk more about what was happening and our own dreams, too! We loved the piece at the end of the book, which told us more about Shabbat - it was nicely explained so that we could all understand the occasion and significance. It is much appreciated as we are all learning here. Most of all, we loved the relationship between Ruby, Tata, and Yaya. Their bond is so pure and innocent and just precious to discover. I think it may be the first book we’ve read featuring great-grandparents, too. This is a great book to explore generations of families, an incredible family bond as well as learning about Shabbat and how Jewish people celebrate.

We turn now to the weekly celebration of Shabbat. The picture book follows Ruby as her family come together to celebrate. It centres around family connections and histories, the value of the stories of our elders and the coming together for Shabbat dinner. It’s one of the only stories I’ve seen featuring a Great Grandparent, which was lovely to see. Both of these books contain a page at the back expanding on the meaning of the celebration along with some of the ways the occasions are experienced.

Julie Salamon is the New York Times-bestselling author of over ten books, including Wendy and the Lost Boys- the Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein. She is a former film and television critic for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Jill Weber is a children’s book illustrator whose books include The Story of Hanukkah, a New York Times holiday pick, The Story of Passover, Goodnight Bubbala, and New York Times bestseller The Christmas Tree, which was written by Julie Salamon.