Julia's Kitchen [Hardcover]

Brenda A. Ferber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2006 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Cara Segal is a born worrier. She figures her worrying works like a whisper in God’s ear – if Cara’s concerned about car crashes, kidnappings, or murders, she lets God know, and he always
spares her. But Cara never thought to worry about a fire. And one night while she’s sleeping at a friend’s house, her house catches fire, and her mother and younger sister are both killed.
Throughout shiva, the initial Jewish mourning period, Cara can’t help wondering about God’s role in the tragedy. And what is her father’s role in her life now? He walks around like a ghost
and refuses to talk about the fire. Cara longs for her family and her home, where sweet smells filled the house as Cara’s mom filled orders for her catering business, Julia’s Kitchen. Then one
day a call comes in for a cookie order, and Cara gets a wild idea. Maybe by bringing back Julia’s Kitchen, she can find a way to reconnect with everything she’s lost.

Complete with a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms and a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, this debut novel is a joyous tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit.

 

Julia's Kitchen is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-The night her mother and sister die in a house fire, 11-year-old Cara is sleeping over at her friend Marlee's. As she gradually tries to adjust to life without them, she struggles with a sense of disbelief at her loss, her anger at her father for his reluctance to discuss the details of the fire and for hiding himself in his work, and her feelings of isolation from her classmates. She questions God's lack of power to keep her family safe, finally realizing that she cannot live without her Jewish faith. Cara takes strength from her beloved Bubbe and Zayde-her mother's parents-and from creating a family scrapbook. But healing and self-assurance finally come with her decision to continue her mother's home-based baking business-Julia's Kitchen. Ferber's characterization of suburban Cara is accurate and believable, although other characters are not as fully developed. A short glossary of Hebrew terminology and a recipe for chocolate chip cookies are appended. The novel's brevity and honesty will appeal to both Jewish and non-Jewish girls.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Eleven-year old Cara Segal regularly floats prayers up to God, nudging him to protect her family. This changes when Cara's mother, Julia, and sister die in a fire at their home, while Cara is at a sleepover. A few items survive the fire, including Julia's recipes and the several Jewish mezuzahs that once hung in their doorways. With her father lost in grief and unavailable to answer her questions, Cara wrestles with a range of emotions, mostly by herself. Relationships with grandparents and best friend, Marlee, are touching and authentic. After 41 days of being the only one who can make Cara smile, Marlee admits that she misses "the old Cara." Cara boosts her own faith and healing by secretly reviving her mother's home-based cookie business, Julia's Kitchen. The story may be too intense for some readers who are Cara's age, and a few plot details are confusing, but major themes about grief and healing are beautifully addressed in what turns out to be a strong debut novel. Nancy Kim
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (March 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374399328
• ISBN-13: 978-0374399320
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brenda A. Ferber grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, where she fell in love with reading and dreamed of becoming a children's book author. Before she found the courage to make her dream come true, she worked at a french-fry store, an ice cream store, and an advertising agency. She graduated from the University of Michigan, married her college sweetheart, and had three kids in 19 months. Then she finally decided to go for it. The result was Julia's Kitchen, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award in 2007. She followed that with Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire. And her first picture book, The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine's Day Ever, will be published in 2013.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story about a difficult topic, March 20, 2006

By 

Natalie Blitt - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Julia's Kitchen (Hardcover)

I received an advanced reader's copy of Julia's Kitchen and read it in one evening, unable to put it down. Julia's Kitchen is a touching portrayal of grief and mourning and rediscovering your personal strength. Given the other topics that young adults and adolescents are reading these days, I hardly think this will be too hard for them to handle. While the subject matter is incredibly painful, and I found myself often weeping, it's a beautiful, well-written story and I can't recommend it highly enough.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Julia's Kitchen Review, December 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Julia's Kitchen (Hardcover)

Just to let you know I am actually 14 I just don't want to put in my email address. I picked up this book at the library one day just looking at the cover thinking it would be a book about a girl that enjoys baking, but when I brougnt it home I couldn't put it down read it all in one night. It is a sad story and i was almost in tears at some parts, but I receieved a very strong theme from this story: Appreciate what you have and try to move on when you lose something important to you. I defnitely recommend that anyone who loves to read will love this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story to touch and change you, June 17, 2006

By 

Carol Coven Grannick - See all my reviews

This review is from: Julia's Kitchen (Hardcover)

I have read JULIA'S KITCHEN a number of times, and each time I am moved, heartbroken and healed by this story. It is the carefully and beautifully written story of Cara, who

must rely to a great extent on her own internal resources when a sudden and unpredictable tragedy strikes her family. JULIA'S KITCHEN will take readers into the depths of Cara's feelings - sadness, anger, confusion, and hope - and offer a rich story of her confusion about her faith, her tenuous relationship with her grieving father, and her questions about how to hold

on to the memories of her mother and sister and still move forward in life.

It is a powerful reading experience for the child who wants to be touched and changed by a story, but it is also an opportunity for children, together, to discuss the multitude of issues dealt with in the course of the book - the unpredictability of the world, the unevenness of adults who do not always have children's best interests at heart, the importance of good friendship, the sometimes-confusing nature of faith, and the beauty and importance of inner resilience and hope. JULIA'S KITCHEN should not be mistaken for a book

"about grief". It is a story about the unfortunate, but real, ways children's lives can be shaken - and the exquisite resiliency of the human spirit.