Barbara Bietz

Jessie Atkin’s counting board book OODLES OF NOODLES (A Counting Word Play Board Book for Toddlers) (Little Bee Books, 2026), illustrated by Moesha Kellaway, follows hungry animals as they enjoy their favorite foods. Utilizing a fun rhyme scheme (like a fox that eats a box of lox and mice that eat rice), OODLES OF NOODLES is an appealing, playful introduction to counting and measurement concepts. Moesha Kellaway’s delightful illustrations add fun color and texture, emphasizing the book’s charm.

One Friday night dinner, my 81-year-old father made an announcement: “I’ve decided to have a bar mitzvah.” After our initial surprise, my siblings and our families were all on board. We understood it was an important step in his life. Due to family tragedies when he was a boy, my dad missed out on this important rite of passage in his younger years. We knew my dad had lost both his mom and sister at a young age, but he didn’t talk about it a lot.

Welcome back, Richard Michelson! Richard’s new picture book NEXT YEAR IN THE WHITE HOUSE: BARACK OBAMA’S FIRST PRESIDENTIAL SEDER (Crown Books For Young Readers, 2025) illustrated by E.B. Lewis retells the true story of the first White House seder in 2009, and its beginnings a year prior, prompted by Jewish campaign staffers who held their seder in a hotel basement.