WRITTEN BY MARGIE BLUMBERG
ILLUSTRATED BY LAURIE McGAW

Avram’s Gift is a charming portrait of a family and how their lives—past and present—mingle to make wishes come true.

“A NOTABLE BOOK FOR YOUNGER READERS” —THE SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS

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$15.95 (Softcover: Full Color)
$6.99 (Softcover: Black and White)
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  • • Pages:
    58 (full-color interior);
    63 (black-and-white interior)
    • Age Range: 7 - 11 years
    • Publication Dates:
    10/18/2017 (Softcover: color interior; b/w interior)
    5/15/2023 (Hardcover: color interior)

    (The original hardcover was published in June 2003, 48 pages; ISBN: 0-9624166-2-2)

    • Sizes:
    8.5 x 8.5 inches (full-color softcover and hardcover)
    5.25 x 8 inches (black-and-white softcover)​

    • ISBNs:
    978-0-9624166-3-7 (full-color softcover)
    979-8-9871401-3-0 (full-color hardcover)
    978-0-9994463-4-8 (black-and-white softcover)

  • shofar story, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, immigration, dreams come true, family, friendships, Judaism, roots

“A Notable Book for Younger Readers”
—The Sydney Taylor Book Awards

A shofar story for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for readers ages 7-11, Avram’s Gift is an endearing tale about discovering one’s roots and making dreams come true. Award-winning illustrator Laurie McGaw brings the story to life with appealing and realistic images throughout the book.

Eight-year-old Mark has two wishes: To become a shofar-blower—just like his High Holiday hero—and to make that photograph of his great-great-grandfather Avram disappear from the hallway in his new home. When the family gathers for Rosh Hashanah, though, Mark discovers that his own desire to blow the shofar is actually linked to a hope that the unsmiling man in the photograph once had.

Avram’s Gift is a charming portrait of a family and how their lives—past and present—mingle to make wishes come true.

 Reviews

“'Avram’s Gift’ is a Rosh Hashanah story, an immigrant story, and a story about contemporary Jewish life all in one beautifully illustrated chapter book bursting with Yiddishkeit.”

—RACHEL KAMIN, ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES


“The shofar’s blasts will be even more meaningful after reading ‘Avram’s Gift’ . . . a handsomely illustrated storybook
that combines a contemporary family's High Holiday observances with family history and an 8-year-old boy's decision to learn to sound the shofar that has been passed down to him from his great-great-grandfather.”

—LINDA R. SILVER, “KIDS’ BOOKS USHER IN SWEET NEW YEAR,” CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS


"A wonderful choice for those long holiday afternoons, it's sure to spark questions about family history and legacies left to future generations."

—CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, JUDY CHERNAK


“[AVRAM’S GIFT] reminded me of my favourite family stories as a child, from Beverly Cleary to Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family. . . . A fabulous story for the Jewish holidays, but also for those just looking to enjoy a classic, timeless story of family and tradition.”

—NOODLENUTS CHILDREN’S BOOKS, JENNIFER STARKMAN

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