Category: fiction

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Sweet Tamales for Purim

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Sweet Tamales for Purim
by Barbara Bietz (Author) and John Kanzler (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A young girl and her new friend Luis plan to create a Purim festival for their town. Their plans for the celebration were well underway until the family goat, Kitzel, ate all of the traditional holiday pastries, Hamantashen. Fortunately, they find another way to celebrate Purim and the family is able to share their cultural traditions with their new neighbors. Inspired by a true event in 1886 when the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society of Tucson planned a Purim Ball for the entire community.

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Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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A Fist for Joe Louis and Me

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A Fist for Joe Louis and Me (Tales of Young Americans)
by Trinka Hakes Noble (Author) and Nicole Tadgell (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Gordy and his family live in Detroit, Michigan, the heart of the United States automobile industry. Every night after coming home from work at one of the plants, Gordy’s father teaches him how to box. Their hero is the famous American boxer Joe Louis, who grew up in Detroit. But the Great Depression has come down hard on the economy. Detroit’s auto industry is affected and thousands of people lose their jobs, including Gordy’s father. When his mother takes on work with a Jewish tailor, Gordy becomes friends with Ira, the tailor’s son, bonding over their shared interest in boxing and Joe Louis. As the boys’ friendship grows, Gordy feels protective of Ira, wanting to help the new boy fit in. At the same time, America is gearing up for the rematch between Joe Louis and the German boxer, Max Schmeling. For many Americans this fight is about good versus evil (US against Nazi Germany). Against the backdrop of the 1938 Fight of the Century, a young boy learns what it means to make a stand for a friend.

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Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.