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The UAHC Press Publishes Two New Children's Books Shabbat Shalom! and The Perfect Prayer Are For Children K-3 The sh'ma and the prayers said on Shabbat are examined in two new books from the UAHC Press that are sure to delight both children and parents with their colorful illustrations and inviting text. Shabbat Shalom, written by Michelle Shapiro Abraham and illustrated by Ann Koffsky, brings a wide variety of Shabbat rituals - from giving tzedakah to saying blessings over the wine and challah - to life with its simple rhymes and warm drawings. Each page focuses on a different blessing, with the appropriate prayer written out in Hebrew, transliteration, and English. Each blessing is illustrated with a delightful illustration depicting a family celebratin'g Shabbat and is accompanied by a rhyme explaining why the prayer is said, such as:
Abraham is the author of several popular UAHC Press publications, including The Be A Mensch Campaign, The Great Balancing Act, and Good Morning: Boker To. Shapiro has written and illustrated other Jewish children's books for the UAHC Press, including My Jewish Holiday Fun Book and To Learn is to Do. The Perfect Prayer, written by Rabbi Donald Rossoff and illustrated by Tammy L. Keiser, tells the story of a long-ago queen in search of a "perfect prayer," one able to "open us to God." Her three advisors give her three ideas of what the prayer might sound like - "Shhh," the sound of silence and listening, "Mmmm," the sound of deep thinking, and "Ahhh," the sound of awe and wonder at God's creation. By combining these suggestions, she discovers the true perfect prayer - the Sh'ma. The Perfect Prayer provides a moving introduction to one of Judaism's oldest and most sacred prayers. Rossoff, the spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Or in Morristown, NJ, couches serious ideas about God and the universe in language that children can understand, and appends his text with notes on the Sh'ma and an author's note about the origins of his story. Keiser's illustrations bring the story to life with vivid bursts of color. Both books are appropriate for children in grades K through 3. Shabbat Shalom is available in softcover, and retails for $6.95. A musical companion to this book, Shabbat Shalom! Jewish Children's Songs for Shabbat CD, is also available. The Perfect Prayer is available in hardcover for $13.95. Both can be ordered from the URJ Press at www.urjpress.com, (888)489-8242, press@urj.org. The URJ PRESS is the book-publishing arm of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the synagogue arm of the Reform Movement in North America. Uniting more than 1.5 million Reform Jews in 900 congregations across the United States and Canada, UAHC programs and services include music and book publishing, adult education opportunities, outreach to unaffiliated and intermarried Jews, and the Religious Action Center in Washington, DC. ### 4/03
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