What We Are Reading - Yom Kippur

With Yom Kippur starting this evening, that has been our focus this week. Jonah and the Whale is the traditional Bible story to read on Yom Kippur.

We found a new favorite telling this year. It is Jonah and the Whale and the Worm. It is a hysterically funny retelling that manages to teach more effectively for the humor. The octopus commentary (which could be skipped but then you would miss all the humor and much of the teaching) is apart from the story in a style similar to the Statler and in the Muppet Show.

We also read another new to us Yom Kippur book, My Very Own Yom Kippur. It is almost a Siddur but not quite. It is written for a child yet is not condescending. It explains Yom Kippur in a much more effective and meaningful manner than I had yet to manage on my own. It explains why we fast, Kol Nidre, and Neila. In between explainations are short stories that relate to the explanations but make them more personal. Froggy will bring this book to shul for Kol Nidre and it will be her Machzor for the holiday.

We also read some secular books this week. We returned to Rebecca with Changes for Rebecca. Froggy very much wants to read the American Girl book herself but they are still above her ability. So what ends up happening is she catches snippets of the story as she goes through it and latches on to those pieces until such point as we read the story together. It may be as simple as a chant, like the underpants rhyme in Meet Molly, or a much more disturbing bit as the Garment District Fires in Changes for Rebecca. I was not aware Froggy had started reading this book until she showed me a picture of the fire at the back of the book. I read the story to her as soon as we stopped that afternoon but the book prompted some heavy conversations about death, fairness, poverty and G'Mulet Chasadim.

Come join the reading blog hop over at ReadAloud Thursday ,Feed Me Books Friday and Mouse Grows Mouse Learns,