Author: beccakinla

fantasy, sci-fi and the Jewish reader

beccakinla Ami, books, children, fantasy, frum, Hereville, kids, literature, Orthodox, sci-fi, Torah 1 Comment
Thanks to my brother-in-law Joshua, I just heard about a wonderful new graphic novel called Hereville. The subject: an 11 y o Orthodox girl fights trolls. With a little research, I discovered that this is currently the #1 Jewish book for kids being sold on Amazon. This doesn’t surprise me in this least. There is a dearth of fantasy and sci-fi books for Jewish kids out there, but there is certainly demand.

Look at the popularity of Harry Potter novels, Percy Jackson adventures, The Dragonriders of Pern, the Circle of Magic series (by Tamora Pierce), The Blue Sword and other books by Robin McKinley, and all those early Heinleins (in his pre-Stranger in a Strange Land days when he still wrote “appropriate” material). Frankly, kids crave these types of books. Why? 1) Kids and teens want to be experience more than their everyday lives. This is escapism from the discomforts of childhood–bullying, homework, parental rule, etc. 2) Kids and teens are still learning to be comfortable with themselves. They have yet to learn many of their personal strengths and often feel inadequate. Many of them hope their hidden talents will “magically” come out and prove them to be special (maybe they’ll even save the world!), a common theme in many of these books.

Jewish kids are no different in these psychological needs. Some frum parents let their kids read secular sci-fi books, but there are a lot of problems with unrestricted access to them. Many fantasy books incorporate pantheism, animism, and avodah zara. Some (His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman, for example) are outright anti-religion. Others describe magic as an appealing alternative religion (many Tamora Pierce books).

Sci-fi books also frequently espouse atheism or portray Science as religion. Moreover, many frum people are uncomfortable with idea of life on other planets, though it is not clear that this opinion has a sound basis in our tradition. Another big barrier in portraying the future is that Moshiach must come, and most rabbeim hold He’ll arrive by the year 6000 on our calendar. Finally, the rigors of space travel introduce unwieldy elements into narratives about Jewish characters: halachic times, Shabbos, kashrus, etc. all must be dealt with.

I think we’re slowing coming to grips with these issues. I’ve seen some fantasy and sci-fi in the fiction department on Chabad.org. A few years ago, there was a fun adult novel of speculative fiction by David Shapiro called The Promise of G-d, and an anthology called Wandering Stars which is Jewish, though certainly not Orthodox. On the juvenile literature front, time travel has become an acceptable subgenre somehow–there’s The Devil’s Apprentice and Trekking Through Time. In 2009, a blogger described the 2009 Jewish Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference at the 92nd Street Y. There, participants were told that among the “in demand” topics was time travel, and that one lecture was about writing Jewish books for the “Twilight Generation”.

There was a piece in HaModia for You set in space last year, and currently the Aim tween supplement to Ami Magazine has a serial with a sci-fi mystery called “To the Edge of the Galaxy.” (disclaimer: I co-author it with Beth Firestone). Ami specifically wanted a sci-fi spin on the serial.

And now there’s Hereville. The reviews I’ve seen are great, and the readers aren’t just religious or even just Jews. Maybe the time for authentically Jewish sci-fi and fantasy books has come. It would be my fantasy come true!



great news!

beccakinla Aim, Ami, children, firestone, Jewish, kids, klempner, magazines, Mishpacha Junior, Orthodox, sci-fi Leave a comment

I haven’t been active on my page for a while, but I wanted to share good news with anyone who drops by.

I’ve been publishing articles on the website www.metroimma.com about parenting small children and connection between real-life and classic children’s books.
The new Jewish magazine, Ami, is now available by subscription at http://www.amimagazine.org/ and on the newsstands in NYC and Chicago…hopefully, it’ll be available in all major Jewish markets soon. I’m co-authoring one of the weekly serials contained in the Aim tween supplement (my co-author is Beth Firestone, known for her novel Candles in my Window). It’s entitled “To the Edge of the Galaxy”. The story follows the adventures of an Orthodox family chosen to colonize a distant planet. I’m hoping all you readers up there will pick up a copy of Ami and try it out!

Additionally, Mishpacha Junior magazine published a story of mine a couple of months ago and expects to publish another soon. I’m really enjoying writing for periodicals and will continue to list my ongoing projects.

Wacky Pesach songs

beccakinla children, funny, kids, passover, pesach, seder, songs 1 Comment

The central mitzvah of the Passover seder is “L’higgadeta L’vincha”—to relate the story of our redemption to children. This means the section of the haggadah called “Maggid” is the most essential portion of it. However, most of the exciting songs and actions of the seder come before or after “Maggid”. Some children, even some adults, don’t really enjoy this part of the seder for that reason.

I know Pesach is long past, but it’s never too early to get ready for next year…

Here is a supplement to the haggadah to be used during “Maggid”. Here are the best songs that I wrote this year to help tell the story of our first Pesach. My original lyrics are sung to familiar children’s songs for ease of use, and I tried to be true to the original text. Please enjoy and tizku l’mitzvos!

To the tune of “Oh, Susanna”

Oh, we came to old Cana’an

To Mitzrayim for some wheat.

We had to leave our father

For we had no food to eat.

Chorus:

Folks of Egypt!

Can you spare us some wheat?

We had to leave our father

For we had no food to eat.

We rode into old Egypt

There we met a strange viceroy.

He told us he was Yosef

Then embraced us all with joy.

Chorus

We rode back to our abba

Yaacov Avinu was his name.

Then we Jews crossed the desert.

Seventy to Egypt came.

Chorus

To the tune of “My Darlin’ Clementine”

(same as “Found a Peanut”)

We were free men, we were free men,

Lived in Goshen with our flocks,

Kept our names, clothes and our language,

But then Yosef, folks forgot.

We were free men, we were free men,

Then they turned us into slaves.

Made us build Egyptian cities.

Then the cities became our graves.

Made us work long, make us work tough,

’til we cried out to Hashem,

“Please save us, please redeem us,

then we’ll serve you, Lord, again.”

To the tune of “Camptown Races”

Jews leave Egypt sing a song

Doo-dah, doo-dah

Jews leave Egypt sing a song

O De-Doo-dah-day

Thank Hashem all night

Thank Hashem all day

Thank Hashem with all our might

Let Moshe lead the way!

blogging again

beccakinla goofy, nail-cutting, nails, Salvador, secular, wacky Leave a comment

Our family welcomed our newest member a month ago, another precious baby girl, so I haven’t had a chance to post for a while.

Here’s just a goofy little story that I invented to make nail-cutting more calm and enjoyable for my boys. It’s particularly appropriate now that summer is here.

Cat Claw

There once was a little boy named Salvador, but all the children in the neighborhood just called him “Cat Claw”. He hated having his nails cut so much that his nails just grew and grew, until he could hardly write with a pencil. His toenails eventually tore through his shoes. Luckily, this was summertime, and Salvador didn’t find it necessary to hold a pencil or wear shoes. His mother tried to tell him that he looked more like an animal than a boy, and neighbors teased and taunted him, but he simply ignored them and continued to avoid his mother’s attempts to trim his nails.

One day in July, the weather grew particularly hot. The sun beat down on Salvador as he scratched in the dirt outside his house, even though it was still morning.

“Mom!” yelled Salvador. “Do we have any lemonade?”

“Yes, would you like some?” his mother said.

“Please…and remember the straw,” he answered. He had to drink with a staw because his nails were too long to hold the glass.

After drinking the lemonade, Salvador went back out to play. He enjoyed himself for a while, but as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky, he could no longer tolerate the heat.

When he’d finished his lunch, he said, “Mom! Let’s go get some ice cream!”

“Sure,” she said. She grabbed her pocketbook and they walked to the ice cream parlor. The only way Salvador could stand the heat was by thinking about the ice cream he’d shortly enjoy. He spent the whole way to the shop discussing with Mom what flavor he’d pick.

“Maybe fudge ripple or triple chocolate,” he said, “though brownie fudge is good, too.”

“How about butter brickle?” his mother suggested.

“Nahh…not chocolatey enough.”

They finally made it to the store. As his mother reached for the door. She pointed to a sign:

NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO SERVICE.

“It looks like you can’t come in, Salvador,” said his mother. “Just look at your feet.”

As usual, her son was shoeless, with long, claw-like nails curling from his toes.

Salvador wiped the sweat from his forehead and exclaimed, “But Mom, it’s hot and I want ice cream!”

“Too bad,” said his mother. She began to turn back towards home.

“What if I let you cut my nails and start to wear shoes again?”

“Let’s do it when we get home!”

Salvador ran all the way home. As soon as his mother unlocked the door, he darted into the bathroom. With only a moment’s hesitation, he cut all his nails, all 20 of them. Washing his hands, he found his old shoes, the ones his nails had NOT torn through. He shoved them on his feet and grabbed his mother’s hand.

“Let’s go!” he said to her. “I want some triple fudge, and I want it now.”

After Bedtime

beccakinla bedtime, kids, parents, secular, stories Leave a comment

This week, we will celebrate the holiday of Shavuot. On the first night, many Jews have the custom to stay up all night to learn Torah, showing how excited they will be to receive the Torah again in the morning. What follows is not a Jewish story, but it is about how much children yearn to stay up late.

It was Leo’s bedtime. He took a warm bath and slipped into his favorite pajamas, the ones with basketballs all over. He drank a glass of milk with his graham cracker then brushed his teeth. His parents sent him off to bed.

“Goodnight!” said his mother.

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” added his father.

But Leo couldn’t sleep. He heard his parents moving around downstairs. He wondered what they were doing down there, after bedtime.

Once he had asked, “Dad, why do I have to go to bed at eight?”

His father had answered, “A growing boy like you needs rest so you can play in the morning.”

“Don’t you need energy for work in the morning, Dad?” Leo had asked.

“Yes, Leo, but I’m not a growing boy anymore. When you are a big man like me, then you will be able to stay up a little later, too.”

Leo sighed and wished he had grown big already.

After bedtime, Leo thought, Mom and Dad probably play with my Legos. I’ll just bet that Dad builds big skyscrapers, and then knocks them down, one-by-one.

And Mom is busy pushing my trains down the tracks, over the bridges and through the tunnels. She keeps adding more and more cars to the train, until the train gets too long and won’t stay together anymore when it rounds the corners.

Next, they take turns riding my pogo stick. Because they’re grown up, I’ll bet they share nicely and have no fights over whose turn is next.

After bedtime, Mom and Dad probably play ball in the house. Maybe that’s the real reason Mom had to buy a new lamp last week.

All that exercise must make them hungry. I’ll bet they order pizza. And, of course, they have ice cream afterwards. That must be why the carton empties out so fast!

Next, Mom hops on my bike, and Dad grabs the scooter. They race around the house, starting at the front door. The foot of the stairs is the finish line.

When they reach the stairs, they go to their room and change into their pajamas. They climb into bed. Are they ready to sleep? Oh, no, they’re not! They jump up and down on the beds until they can touch the ceiling.

Then they pick up their pillows. Mom shouts, “Pillow fight!” They whack each other with the pillows until they really and truly are tired and can fight no longer.

Finally, Mom and Dad are ready to sleep. Maybe they tuck each other in. Mom says, “Goodnight!” and Dad says, “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

I’m going to catch them tonight, thought Leo. Slowly, he crept out of bed. He tried very hard not to make a single sound as he tiptoed down the stairs.

Peeking around the corner, he found his parents in the kitchen. His mother stood washing dishes, while his father swept the floor.

“Leo’s getting very big,” said his father.

“Yes,” replied his mother, stifling a yawn. “Maybe we should let him stay up a little later.”

My Two Special Grandmothers

beccakinla Ashkenazi, bubbe, grandmother, Jewish, mother, poem, savta, Sephardi Leave a comment

This is a little poem I wrote in honor of my mother and mother-in-law. It’s only loosely based on reality, but my mother is really from Baltimore, and my mother-in-law really is from Israel (born in Alexandria, Egypt). I felt it was important to tell the story of a little kid who is partly Ashkenazi and partly Sephardi, because so many families are now “mixed” like that. Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!

Savta moved here from Israel.

Bubbe grew up in Baltimore.

Both of them now live in the United States.

When I visit, Savta says, “Mami, you are chamood!”

Bubbe calls me zees.

I love to visit them both.

On the phone before the Sabbath, Savta says, “Shabbat shalom!’

Bubbe wishes me, “a gut shabbes.”

Both of them pray that I grow up well after they say the brachah on their candles.

On Rosh Hashanah, Savta rushes to the beit kanesset.

Bubbe runs to shul.

Both of them sit quietly with me to hear the shofar.

In the fall, Savta drapes colorful rugs in her sukkah.

Bubbe hangs Indian corn from the schach.

Both of them string up the decorations I made in school.

Savta rolls cotton into wicks and pours olive oil into Saaba’s Chanukah lamps.

Bubbe places tiny wax candles into Zeyde’s menorah.Both of them set the Chanukiahs in front of the window for everyone to see.

On Purim, Savta sends me baklava and halva in my shalach manot.

Bubbe floats kreplach in my soup.

Both of them remind me to use my gragger when I hear “Haman”.

Savta checks her rice before Pesach.

Bubbe tosses hers into a sealed cupboard.

Both of them crunch through their matzah at the seder.

While I sit on her lap, Savta tells me about when she was a girl in Egypt.

Bubbe tells her bubbe‘s story of fleeing Russia in the night.

Both of them are happy to live in a free country.

My two special grandmothers are as different as can be.

They came from different places with different history.

But together they helped to make one special ME!