Reading Report

I completed two books this week; one for myself and one for my kids. Both, I would highly recommend. To learn more about how this weekly reading report began, click here.

Miriam's Kitchen: A Memoir written by Elizabeth Ehrlich

Elizabeth Ehrlich is a Jewish American woman who tells the story of discovering her heritage while learning to keep a kosher kitchen with her mother in law, Miriam, a Polish immigrant and Holocaust survivor. At Miriam’s side, Elizabeth learns about family, faith, and the pain of war. Elizabeth’s journey is one of love, commitment, and eventually the understanding of a life lived with conviction.

Although I am not Jewish, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the faith and love that embodies keeping a kosher kitchen. The author has encouraged me to be more intentional about mentoring my children in the kitchen and training them up in the faith that we hold to. Most importantly, I appreciate the hard work that went into writing down old family recipes for the generations to come. This is exactly what I have always wanted to do for my own children, and some day my grandchildren.

Wonderstruck written by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck is the story of Ben, and his search for his father. It is also the story of Rose, who is deaf, and her struggle to find her place in this world. Ben’s part of this story is told with words and Rose’s part of the story is told with pictures. It is a tale filled with adventure and hope and is illustrated with stunning and creative artwork.

This is the fourth book of Brian Selznick’s that I have read to my children; and, all three of my kids have been riveted by his stories. If you are not familiar with his works, Brian Selznick also wrote The Invention of
Hugo Cabret which has recently been made into a movie called Hugo.