Callista is hosting a new challenge, the
Jewish Literature Challenge. It does have its own blog. I'm assuming she'll invite participants so they can post their as well as on their own blogs. I cannot begin to tell you how very EXCITED I am to participate in this!!!
What: Reading books by Jewish Authors or about Judaism
When: December 4, 2007 (Beginning of Hanukkah) to April 26, 2008 (End of Passover)Who: Anyone who wants to participate! Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike
Where: Right
here of course! You can also post your picks and reviews to your own blog if you have one or course.
How: Sign the comments on
THIS post to join this blog. Once I've added you, you can post your picks here and when the time comes, post your reviews here too. I'm sure you'll want to post about this challenge on your blog too. Use the banner above and link to this blog.
Are you wondering more about what books are okay?Fiction, Non-fiction, memoirs, Adult books, Teen books, Children's books, books about the Holocaust, books about anti-semitism, books about Jewish Life, Jewish Culture, Jewish Customs. Books by Jewish Authors no matter what the subject.
Here are my list of books. I'm sure I can't get to all of them. But I am going to try to read at least five of them. As always, I may change the list as I go along.
The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
I Have Lived A Thousand Years by Livia Bitton Jackson
(My Bridges of Hope by Livia Bitton Jackson)
(Hello, America by Livia Bitton Jackson)
No Pretty Pictures by Anita Lobel
Night by Elie Wiesel
Until We Meet Again by Michael Korenblit and Kathleen Janger
Alicia My Story by Alicia Appleman-Jurman
The Cage by Ruth Minsky Sender
To Life by Ruth Minsky Sender
Isabella From Auschwitz to Freedom by Isabella Leitner
The Tale of The Ring: A Kaddish by Frank Stiffel
Dry Tears: The Story of A Lost Childhood by Nechama Tec
A Special Fate Chiune Sugihara: Hero of the Holocaust by Alison Leslie Gold
In My Hands: Memories of A Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke
I Will Plant You A Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
Escaping Into the Night by D.Dina Friedman
Shanghai Shadows by Lois Ruby
Interested in participating, you might want to browse
this site for ideas.
Today's edition of Travel the World brings us to the Netherlands. The book is Playing with Stuff: Outrageous Games With Ordinary Objects by Ferry Piekart and Lars Deltrap. The first American edition is 2004; the publisher is Kane/Miller.
Playing with Stuff is a strange little book. It is full of activities, crafts, games, etc. for children to play indoors and out with ordinary household items or "stuff." Some of the games, I think, would be a hit with children. I'm not sure all of the games would be a hit, however, with parents who would most likely have to clean up afterwards. I'll be specific. I'm not sure parents would get excited about the idea of their kids using rolls and rolls of toilet paper and playing "Robber Roundup" a game where the children first take rolls of toilet paper strips and make a confusing pattern weaving it up and down and around all the furniture. Most likely you've seen it in the movies--when a burglar breaks into a building there's usually high-tech security. Laser beams criss-cross the entire place and the slightest touch triggers the alarm: beep-beep-peep! Risky business. That's why real robbers practice. And you can too (even though you're not a robber). How? With lots of toilet paper of course! Another toilet paper focused game is Story Boardy where kids use rolls of toilet paper to make a game board around the house. Six squares of toilet paper equals one game square, and kids are encouraged to write on the toilet paper funny game instructions. And of course, the kids themselves are the players. 
While I'm not denying that it is probably fun to be your player in a board game and have things be life-sized, I am sure it would require quite a bit of set up time. And clean up time. But there are many, many other games that require less time and cleanup. For example, Calendar Caper just requires an old calendar, two game pieces, 2 markers, and dice. And Cheese Squeeze just requires a slice of cheese, a plate, and two straws. Both of those games sound like fun to me.
