A Synagogue Just Like Home

A new rabbi’s efforts to fix up his aging synagogue are a labour of love – and a comedy of errors – until his congregants fondly pool their talents in this lighthearted celebration of community.

Rabbi Ruben loves his synagogue. But he doesn’t love the creaking floorboards, leaking sink, or drafty windows. Surely, he thinks, he can fix it up so it feels cared for, like a happy home! But Rabbi Ruben doesn’t know much about home repair, so when his creative fixes – challah dough plugging a drippy faucet, tablecloths blocking a window draft – make things humorously worse, it’ll take his whole congregation banding together to remind him what really makes a place feel like a happy home.

Alice Blumenthal McGinty’s warm, inviting text pairs with Laurel Molk’s lively, friendly illustrations for a story about community and coming together – sharing, helping, caring.

About the Author

Alice Blumenthal McGinty is the award-winning author of 50 fiction and nonfiction books for children, including: the 2019 Jr. Library Guild Selection, The Girl Who Named Pluto: The Story of Venetia Burney illustrated by Elizabeth Haidle, the 2019 Northern Lights Book Award Winner (food category) Pancakes to Parathas: Breakfast Around the World illustrated by Tomoko Suzuki, the 2015 Sydney Taylor Notable book, Rabbi Benjamin's Buttons illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt, and the picture book biography, Gandhi: A March To the Sea illustrated by Thomas Gonzales, which was awarded as an honor book for the 2014 South Asia Book Award for Children's And Young Adult Literature. In addition to being a writer, she is a writing coach and instructor. She lives in Illinois, USA.

About the Illustrator

Laurel Molk has written and illustrated several books for children and is the illustrator of There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi. She has also exhibited in shows at the Society of Illustrators. She lives near Boston, USA.