Joyful Song
Joyful Song
Dynamic Duo Lesléa Newman and Susan Gal invite readers on a neighborhood stroll and everyone is invited - including YOU! Especially YOU!
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.
Contributor Bio(s)
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.
★ “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.” – Publishers Weekly (starred)
★ “Words and art brim with warmth; the love and support in this diverse community are palpable… A soaring ode to community, tradition, and family.” – Kirkus (starred)
★ “This welcome, positive, inclusive story… portrays a child infectiously excited about a new sister and about a Jewish ritual.” – Horn Book
“Joyful Song is a sweet story, not just for those welcoming a new child into their home, but for anyone looking to see a community practice equality and openness. It is a book of optimism, and isn’t that the perfect feeling with which each new child should be welcomed?” – BookishlyJewish
“A quiet story that celebrates a joyful Jewish experience, and makes the reader smile at its tenderness.” – Sydney Taylor Shmooze
