#allisonofanansky

You all know how much I love sharing holidays, particularly the lesser known ones, and this Friday night we in the Jewish community will celebrate a particularly special one. Shavuot, which literally translates as "weeks", is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals mentioned in the Torah, along with Pesach (Passover) and Sukkot, which celebrate both agricultural and historical events. In the case of Shavuot, this event is deeply meaningful: the Jewish people receiving the Torah, the very foundation of our belief system, on Mount Sinai. For learning about the Jewish holidays, I love Allison Ofanansky's non-fiction picture books, with photos by Eliyahu Alpern. In this case, "Cheesecake For Shavuot" (2013) follows a class of Israeli children as they work in their school garden and kitchen to prepare for the holiday, including making some traditional dairy treats! A great intro to the holiday for any kid! Note: special thanks to the amazing @ashspeedteaches for the pictures! Check out her page for more information on the holiday. ♥️ 🥛 🥛 🥛 #NoodlenutsKidsBooks #CheesecakeForShavuot #AllisonOfanansky #EliyahuAlpern #MillbrookPress #PJLibrary #Shavuot #Shavuos #CountingTheOmer #JewishKids #JewishFamily #JewishMom #JewishBooks #JewishNoodlenuts #JewishHoliday #Blintzes #cheeseblintzes #HolidayBooks #LearningEveryDay #MulticulturalLearning #multicultural (at Mt Sinai) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAqgoxjHw_j/?igshid=154fuwmknulnd

Let the Passover Book Roundup begin! I thought we'd start things off with a bit of interesting non-fiction, for kids stuck at home right now. For many people, even non-Jews, when they hear the word Passover, one of the first things they think of is matzah, the large, cracker-like unleavened bread that we eat during this holiday. "How It's Made: Matzah" (2017) by Allison Ofanansky, with wonderful photos by Eliyahu Alpern, does indeed explain how matzah is made (it's a lot more involved than you probably realise!). But beyond that, it also goes into the history and rituals around this traditional food. There are instructions for matzah-related crafts, and information about other foods eaten at the Passover seder (holiday feast). This is a wonderfully informative book that's still fun to look through, and accessible for younger children! ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ #noodlenutskidsbooks #jewishnoodlenuts #noodlenutspassover #howitsmadematzah #allisonofanansky #eliyahualpern #pesach #passover #matzah #matzoh #matza #makingmatzah #matzo #shmurahmatzah #shmuramatzah #passover2020 #seder #sederplate #matzahcover #pesachprep #jewishbooks #jewishkids #jewishholiday https://www.instagram.com/p/B-H_wl0nnNK/?igshid=1eotovdnsa51

One of the things I love about exploring different aspects of religious and cultural traditions through books is that there is room for non-fiction as well. In Allison Ofanansky's "Harvest of Light" (2008), we get to learn about the olive harvest in Israel through a young girl's participation in her family's traditions, how olive oil is made, and how all of this connects to the Chanukah holiday. Illustrated with beautiful photographs by Eliyahu Alpern, it's a wonderful book for curious children of any background! ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ #noodlenutsclassickidlit #jewishnoodlenuts #noodlenutschanukah #harvestoflight #allisonofanansky #eliyahualpern #karbenpublishing #karben #oliveharvest #olives #oliveoil #israel #israelikids #menorahlighting #harvesttime #iteach123 #schoollibrary #iteachfirst #iteachsecond #homeschoolfamily https://www.instagram.com/p/B6JKCpnnDEX/?igshid=fkpq1s6m358o