Joyful Song: A Naming Story

by Lesléa Newman (Author) Susan Gal (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

What a happy day!

Zachary's baby sister will have her naming ceremony. In the temple! With his moms, the congregation, and all their friends! He's so excited he can barely contain it. On the walk from their home, they meet neighbor after neighbor who want to know the baby's name. But - not yet! - his mothers tell him. The tradition is to have a great reveal at the ceremony. So they invite each neighbor to come along.

A colorful, diverse parade blooms along the route, until...At last it's time, and Zachary gets to reveal his sister's name...

What is it? A truly joyful moment for everyone.

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Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
A soaring ode to community, tradition, and family.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In this picture book look at contemporary Jewish life, Newman (The Fairest in the Land) and Gal (Dear Stray) focus on a synagogue baby-naming ceremony. Young Zachary and his moms walk with their newborn through a bustling neighborhood to the synagogue, inviting the neighbors they encounter to come along. Everyone they meet wants to know what the infant is called, but as Mama, portrayed with pink skin, and Mommy, portrayed with brown skin like the couple's children, subtly remind their son, the "real" name won't be made known until the ceremony itself. Instead, the family responds with newly minted nicknames: Little Babka, Shayneh Maideleh ("beautiful girl"). Zachary soon has the honor of announcing the baby's name to the whole congregation: he notes "My sister opens her eyes and stretches out her little hand as though she wants to pull her name right out of my mouth" before revealing, "Aliza Shira which means 'joyful song.' " Radiant artwork has soft pencil and crayon textures and tissue-paper-like layers of bright colors, capturing the coziness of Zachary's home, their neighborhood's tropical setting, and the sacred space where a loving, variously inclusive community has gathered to welcome their newest member. An author's note concludes. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown Ltd. Illustrator's agent: Gail Gaynin, Morgan Gaynin. (May)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Lesléa Newman

Lesléa Newman is the author of more than fifty books for young readers, including Heather Has Two Mommies, and two other books illustrated by Susan Gal: Welcoming Elijah, and Here is the World . Among her many accolades are the Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award, two National Jewish Book Awards, two Stonewall Honors, and a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Massachusetts with her spouse and their cat, Mitzi.

Susan Gal has written and illustrated several picture books including Night Lights, Please Take Me for a Walk and Twogether. Her illustrated books have been recognized with the Sydney Taylor Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and most recently both a Robert F. Sibert Honor and the Russell Freedman Nonfiction Award for a Better World for The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel. Susan lives in Berkeley, California with her family. You can see more of her work at galgirlstudio.com.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781646143702
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Levine Querido
Publication date
May 07, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV033020 - Juvenile Fiction | Religious | Jewish
JUV013040 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | New Baby
JUV017090 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Other, Religious
Library of Congress categories
-

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