It's Challah Time! [Library Binding]

Latifa Berry Kropf (Author), Tod Cohen (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Boys and girls at a Jewish nursery school work together to prepare and bake challah, the traditional bread served on the Sabbath. They then sing, set the table, light candles, recite blessings, and enjoy the delicious tastes of challah and grape juice. A recipe for whole wheat honey challah is included along with the prayers in Hebrew, both transliterated and translated, for lighting candles, blessing wine, and blessing bread. The full-color photographs depict a happy group of children. Because there is no explanatory background, this book would best serve those already familiar with Shabbat observances.
Susan Pine, New York Public Library
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 1. One of the pleasures of the weekly Jewish celebration of Shabbat is tasting challah and saying the traditional blessing of thanks for "bread from the earth." Here, sharp, full-color photos show several darling children, probably five or six years old, mixing, kneading, and braiding the dough--and loving every minute of it. The text is very simple: "Today is Friday. Time to make challah for Shabbat." It includes very little about the significance of the bread or the holiday, though little ones are pictured singing blessings (three traditional blessings appear in English, Hebrew, and transliteration at the end of the book) and tasting their handiwork at the close. For a more rounded view of the celebration, give children Cecily Lang's Annie's Shabbat (1997). What Kropf's book does best is show children contributing to the weekly preparations and having fun at the same time. A recipe is appended. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Library Binding: 22 pages
• Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580130364
• ISBN-13: 978-1580130363
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #398,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Kosher
  • #98 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Jewish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challah, Preschool Style!, October 24, 2002

By 

Amy Weisman (Boca Raton, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Challah Time! (Library Binding)

Recently published by Kar-Ben, It's Challah Time is a wonderful photo-documentary of challah-baking by preschool children. The setting of the story is the preschool classroom itself. The children actively participate in adding the ingredients, mixing, kneading, rolling and braiding the home-made bread in the housekeeping area. As they wait for the challah to bake, they are pictured doing those things preschoolers do: reading in the book area and singing and dancing with the visiting Cantor. Finally, the challah is ready, the table is set, prayers are said. There's only one more thing to do...and by the looks on the faces of the children on both the front and back covers, the challah-baking experience is quite a success!
The photographs in this book are just wonderful. The children will love looking at the children their ages in a setting so similar to their own. I'm thinking I may need two copies of this book: one for story-telling and one for the housekeeping area itself. What a great reference for not only an actual challah-baking activity, but for a pretend one as well!

5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS Book with Great Pictures, October 28, 2011

By 

Wandering Hoosier "dog lover" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: It's Challah Time! (Hardcover)

Each page of the book has a photo with kids with a few sentences that describe the picture. It starts with a picture of kids getting ready to make challah, then the kids add flour, yeast, and eggs. There is an adorable picture of a little girl with her tongue sticking out as she mixes the dough. A teacher helps the kids braid the bread and then it is ready for the oven. Plus, the book gave me the idea of putting cinnamon and sugar on the challah. A recipe for challah can be found on the last page of the book. I haven't yet tried the recipe but will update the review when I do.

5.0 out of 5 stars I remember making Challah with Latifa...., September 3, 2011

By 

Jessica Ewell - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Challah Time! (Library Binding)

Many years before this book was written, I was 7 years old, and was the author's next-door neighbor. Some of my most treasured childhood memories include helping Latifa and her children make gorgeous, golden loaves of Challah most weekends. Watching her bake and tell stories about the religious significance of Challah was magical. As a Catholic, this was my first inroduction to Judaic culture, and was a profoundly positive experience that I've carried with me for the past 20 years. When I was sent a copy of the book years after I moved away, it thrilled me to see that Latifa is carrying on her work with children, and it seems that little has changed since I sat in her kitchen watching her bread rise. I see a new generation of myself in her book. I write this review, at 25, as I pull out her book tonight to make challah for my husband and family, and wanted to say how much Latifa's dedication to children and the art of Challah changed my life for the better.