The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story

by Jacqueline Jules, Katherine Janus Kahn (Illustrator)

Overview

The Ziz, a wonderful bird who lived long ago, is so big and clumsy that he can't keep from bumping into things. When a tree he knocks over destroys the children's garden, he seeks God's help to fix things. "Bring me the hardest word," God instructs him, and the Ziz flies off to search. He brings back words like rhinocerous, rock, and Rumplestiltskin, but none is acceptable, until he makes an important discovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781512495669
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	6 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jacqueline Jules is an award-winning author and poet. Her many children's books include The Hardest Word (National Jewish Book Award finalist), Happy Hanukkah Lights, and Picnic at Camp Shalom. She lives in northern Virginia.

Katherine Janus Kahn studied Fine Arts at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem and at the University of Iowa. She has illustrated many children's books including Kar-Ben's popular Sammy Spider series. She lives in Wheaton, Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

Based loosely on a Hasidic folk tale, this sweet-natured story is a good way to get some cross-cultural education into your child-care center or elementary school. A mythical bird called the Ziz inadvertently wreaks havoc with the village children's vegetable garden. How will they decorate their sukkah, or ceremonial huts? The Ziz has a talk with God, who instructs him to search the world over for the hardest word. That word turns out to be "sorry," and the Ziz finds he cannot only be forgiven, he can actually try to make up for the wrong he has done. Kahn's goofy illustrations show the Ziz as awkward and gangly and sometimes unable to help himself. Any kid who has ever broken a dish or sent a baseball through a window will identify. 2001, Kar-Ben Copies, $17.95 and $6.95. Ages 3 to 7. Reviewer:Donna Freedman

Children's Literature