A Synagogue Just Like Home

Rabbi Ruben’s beloved synagogue is warm, welcoming—and in serious need of renovation. “Its sunny sanctuary had such drafts that at last Friday evening’s service, the Shabbat candles flickered once, flickered twice, and then blew out!” writes McGinty (The Water Lady) in warm prose. The rabbi, who reads as white, decides he’s the “Y” in DIY and waves off all help, but his repairs—he uses challah dough to plug a leaky faucet—fall far short. With the synagogue even more of a mess than before, the congregants gently remind their rabbi that if a synagogue is indeed “just like home,” then it’s their home, too, and that “helping,” “sharing,” and “caring” is everyone’s responsibility. After a week of their working together, the synagogue is as good as new, and the Shabbat candles burn “bright and strong.” Molk’s (There Might Be Lobsters) mixed-media art portrays an exuberantly participatory community of people with varying body types and skin tones, and kids who evince as much a sense of ownership as the grown-ups. Final scenes set in the glow of the Shabbat candles have a quiet, profound beauty: deep faith, immense joy, and unshakable belonging radiate from the pages. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)