I’m so grateful to fellow writer Emma Dixon for the lovely article about me and my book in the most recent issue of J Life Magazine. It feels extra special to be featured in my favorite local publication!

I’m so grateful to fellow writer Emma Dixon for the lovely article about me and my book in the most recent issue of J Life Magazine. It feels extra special to be featured in my favorite local publication!

The day is finally here! Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered, ordered, and supported me. If you have your copy of Just Say Welcome and love it, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

And I love this sign outside a church in my neighborhood. My dog picked up the welcoming scent too.

Thank you to Lerner Publishing for these cute questions on my author webpage. The answers are short but show some of my writing motivation and inspiration.

Not only does this house have one of the best-stocked Little Free Libraries in town, it often sports lovely garden flags with positive messages. I had to share the sign they have out now.


Thank you to Rebecca Kirshenbaum for her positive review of Just Say Welcome! in School Library Journal:
…the story offers young children an avenue toward connecting despite cultural differences, a message that, especially now, deserves to be amplified.
VERDICT A useful addition to collections in communities welcoming immigrants and refugees, especially with its celebration of inclusivity.
TeachingBooks.net has a fun yet practical feature on their website: audio name pronunciations for thousands of authors and illustrators. I just got added to the site, and you can have a listen!
Enjoy this video round-up of Kar-Ben’s new children’s Jewish fiction books for the fall! I’m proud to have Just Say Welcome on the list!

On July 31, Capstone released my books, We Gather at a Jewish Synagogue: A Place in Our Community and Yom Kippur, and I received my author copies today! Both books are part of larger series that cover world religions. The “Where We Gather” series explores customs, traditions, anthropology, and architecture at a K-3 interest level and a first- through second-grade reading level. Yom Kippur is part of the “Traditions and Celebrations” series, which covers religious customs and traditions at a K-3 interest level and a second- through third-grade reading level. I love that Capstone embraces inclusivity and recognizing similarities through our differences. When children learn about other cultures and communities, the world becomes a more accepting place, where curiosity blossoms into knowledge.

I take great pride in my friendships–whether it’s the bestie I talk or text with daily, the busy mom friends I meet for dinner less often than we’d like, the college roommate I meet with our kids when we’re in town together, or the pre-college school friends that share infrequent reunions, Sunday-night Zoom calls, and Wordle scores in our group chat. There are friends whose bat mitzvahs I went to, and now we’re attending our children’s b’nai mitzvahs. Maintaining these friendships over decades has been gratifying in so many ways, and I have no plans to stop.
