Description
Joyful Song
by Lesléa Newman
ISBN: 9781646143702
Hardcover, new
Brief Description:
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.
Target Age Group: Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3
DK Paul –
Joyful song: A Naming Story by Leslea Newman ; the title says it all. A family is walking to the Jewish Synagogue on a lovely cheery morning. Along the way, each neighbor they meet wants to know the name they chose for the new baby girl. But tradition says the the baby can’t be called by their given name until after the naming ceremony. So they make up sweet nick names like “Little Babka”, or “Snuggle Bunny”, and invite the neighbors to join the procession to Temple. The whole community, a mix of many nationalities came together to welcome the baby and learn her name.
This is a joyful story. I felt happy that everyone came together in joyful peace to celebrate a brand new life. The book can be given as a baby gift, or it can be used as a basic social studies lesson to learn about family traditions and religions in our community. The backstory on the last page of the book helps explain the meaning of names and naming ceremonies.