Jewish Children’s Book Awards 2023: Winners announced on World Book Day
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Jewish Children’s Book Awards 2023: Winners announced on World Book Day

Illustrations of a magic challah that feeds a whole town wins award supported by Jewish Book Week and publisher Green Bean Books

Magic Challah illustration by Mel Zohar. Pic: Green Bean Books
Magic Challah illustration by Mel Zohar. Pic: Green Bean Books

An Italian-Jewish artist and London-based author have won the illustration and writing prizes in the 2023 Jewish Children’s Book Awards.

The competition, run by Green Bean Books and Jewish Book Week, honoured Rome-based illustrator Mel Zohar, who illustrated a story about her grandparents’ delicious magical challah which grows so big that it feeds the whole town, even the poor and the homeless, for Shabbat.

London-based Dina Leifer won the writing prize for ‘And Eddie Had An Egg’, a tale based on her memories of her own son and his reluctance to try new food.

Left to right; Michael Levinthal, Mel Zohar, the Italian illustrator holding her award, Israeli publisher and judge Yael Molchadsky and translator and judge Lawrence Schimel

The two winners each won a £1000 award and a glass trophy.

The awards are judged by author and chair of the book selection committee of PJ Library Chris Barash; publisher of Green Bean Books Michael Leventhal; director of the children’s and YA (Young Adult) department at publishing house Kinneret-Zmora-Dvir Yael Molchadsky; translator and author Lawrence Schimel; and award-winning author Eric Kimmel.

Leventhal said: “Mel Zohar’s illustrations about an ever-growing challah are bright and exciting. She is an incredibly creative and original talent. Dina Leifer’s story is a charming, witty and clever story about a boy who is a fussy eater but eventually gets one over his parents.”

Illustrations by Italian illustrator Mel Zohar, Pic: Green Bean Books

Zohar, 32, from Rome, Italy, said: “I want to thank all the judges who, with this decision, have made me very happy, not only for the recognition I have received for my work as an illustrator, but even more because these images come from my personal family background and from my personal bond with the Jewish tradition and creating them was very emotionally involving for me.  And I also want to really thank my Bobe (grandmother) for inspiring them.”

Leifer, 56, who was born in Dundee and now lives in London said: “I am delighted! ‘And Eddie Had An Egg’ is a story that is very close to my heart, so it means a great deal that it was chosen by the distinguished panel at the Jewish Children’s Book Awards. Winning this award has boosted my confidence to go on and write more Jewish stories for children.”

Two other writers were shortlisted for the text award: Rebecca Marcus for ‘Even the Masfa’, and Angela Kanter for ‘On One Leg’.

The Jewish Children’s Book Awards were first launched in 2021. The 2023/2024 competition will be launched in April 2023.  For more details please see www.greenbeanbooks.com or contact michael@greenhillbooks.com

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: