Belfer Bar Mitzvah

Bar Mitzvah (son of thecommandment) and Bat Mitzvah (daughter of the commandment) mark the agewhen adult reason and responsibility begin. In this third book about her, TobyBelfer, a Jewish girl growing up in rural Louisiana, learns about the BarMitzvah ceremony through her older cousin Paul. Beginning with Toby'sinvitation to Paul's Bar Mitzvah and ending with the cutting of the challah andthe traditional dance called the horah, the reader is led through theexperience of this ancient ceremony. Now Toby is better prepared to begin herown studies for the Bat Mitzvah, changing perhaps only one thing-pink insteadof green balloons!As in the other Belfer stories, author Gloria Teles Pushker gives theappropriate Jewish terms and follows them with definitions so that Jews andnon-Jews alike can gain a greater understanding of the traditions and ritualsthat make up the Jewish faith. Gloria Teles Pushker was born in New Orleans,Louisiana, and is also the author of Toby Belfer Never Had a ChristmasTree and Toby Belfer's Seder: A Passover StoryRetold . She received a master's degree in education with aconcentration in children's literature from the University of New Orleans. Sheteaches children's literature at Loyola University and Xavier University, bothin New Orleans. A recognized speaker, Pushker appears at schools, libraries,synagogues, and churches, bringing her costumes and characters to life in theclassroom for programs on multicultural understanding. She is a member of theNational Storytelling Association and the Coalition for the Advancement ofJewish Education.Judith Hierstein resides in Auburn, Maine, where she teaches art at theelementary school level. Emphasizing how pictures begin where the written wordends, she stresses to her students the value of learning about other culturesthrough illustrated children's books. She holds a B.A. in art from theUniversity of Iowa. She is also the illustrator of Gloria Teles Pushker's othertwo books with Pelican, Toby Belfer Never Had a Christmas Tree and TobyBelfer's Seder: A Passover Story Retold.Pushker, Gloria T. is the author of 'Belfer Bar Mitzvah' with ISBN 9781565540958 and ISBN 1565540956.