Melt into the nooks and crannies of this book’s unhurried pages, offering a place to rest and a pregnant pause for counting your many blessings—current and imminent! Here, a child and a mother measure, mix, knead, shape, and tuck their dough under a towel like a sleeping baby. Then, as they do every week, they wait while their dough rises, soon to be baked and gratefully shared at a Shabbat gathering with loved ones. Author Sidura Ludwig’s poetic narration captures the experience of a Jewish family as they make challah—a lesson in patience, slowing down, faith, and family. Illustrator Sophia Vincent Guy brings light and warmth to the scene, from a sun-bleached, gossamer curtain to the rising steam from the bread, all rendered in delicate, decorative patterns. Whatever their background, readers will be happy to find the author’s go-to recipe for challah at the end, along with a glossary and an author’s note describing the personal meaning of her family’s weekly ritual.
Rising
Author(s)
Publisher
Age Range
2+
Release Date
May 14, 2024
ISBN
978-1536225495
Buy This Book
A quiet, joyful story celebrating a Jewish mother’s tradition of making challah with her child merges a lyrical text with stunning illustrations—and includes the author’s favorite recipe.
Editor reviews
2 reviews
Soothing Story
Overall rating
4.5
Plot
4.0
Characters
4.0
Writing Style
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
5.0
Rising is a soothing story of a Jewish family bonding over making challah before the Shabbat. The calm colors of the illustrations and the soft tone of the sentences would make this an ideal bedtime story. It highlights togetherness and patience. By working together, the family is strengthened and able to enjoy a special time each week to be together. The author includes a recipe in the back for challah bread which would make a great addition to a study on Jewish traditions. It also includes a glossary of the Hebrew terms used in the story so non-Jewish readers can also follow along.
Baking and Celebrating
Overall rating
4.0
Plot
4.0
Characters
4.0
Writing Style
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
4.0
A child and mother start the long and interesting process of making challah in their sun filled kitchen. The bring out their favorite bowl, mix the ingredients, wait for the dough to rise, braid it, and smell the delicious aromas as it bakes. After the bread has cooled, they make their preparations for the Shabbat summer, and welcome friends. The group say their prayers and have a meal together. The child is carried to bed, and is reassured that Jewish people celebrate this way all over the world, and that the same preparations will be carried out in the future, even with a brand new sibling to join in. There is a challah recipe at the end of the book, along with the author's note about Shabbat.
Good Points
From the end papers, showing chalk like outlines of kitchen equipment on a dark blue surface, to the floral details of the family's dishware and decor, this is a lovely book, with soft colors of teal, blue, and a peachy beige. There are lots of details in the pictures that are fun to look at, and astute young readers will notice that the mother is heavily pregnant as she works closely with her child.
There are a lot of good details about the Shabbat celebration that will be informative to Gentile readers, and affirming to Jewish ones. Family rituals and everyday celebrations vary from family to family, and it's always good to have a window into the lives of others or a mirror reflecting a child's own experiences.
In the ten years since the We Need Diverse Books movement, we've seen such a great selection of books that show young readers so many different experiences of joy and celebration. This is a great addition to a list of books specifically about Shabbat like Lights Out Shabbat by Shulimson or Koala Challahby Gehl or Jewish celebrations in general like Here Is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays
by Newman. Elementary school libraries will want to make sure to include books about a wide range of culturally connected events!
There are a lot of good details about the Shabbat celebration that will be informative to Gentile readers, and affirming to Jewish ones. Family rituals and everyday celebrations vary from family to family, and it's always good to have a window into the lives of others or a mirror reflecting a child's own experiences.
In the ten years since the We Need Diverse Books movement, we've seen such a great selection of books that show young readers so many different experiences of joy and celebration. This is a great addition to a list of books specifically about Shabbat like Lights Out Shabbat by Shulimson or Koala Challahby Gehl or Jewish celebrations in general like Here Is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays
by Newman. Elementary school libraries will want to make sure to include books about a wide range of culturally connected events!
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