A Synagogue Just Like Home

by Alice B. McGinty, Laurel Molk (Illustrator)

A new rabbi’s efforts to fix up his aging synagogue are a labor 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.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Jewish, Judaism, Family, Friendship, Realistic Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published August 9, 2022

About the author

Alice Blumenthal McGinty is an American writer of children's books.
McGinty was born in 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She attended Indiana University and the University of Illinois. McGinty is Jewish. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Reviews

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, fun picture book that highlights a community of Jewish faith. I love this representation, as usually the only time we see Jewish people depicted in children's lit is highlighting oppression or the horror of the Holocaust. Rabbi Rubin needs help fixing up the synagogue, and thanks to his congregation he gets it. The illustrations sparkle. Lots of fun.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, lively picture book about a community coming together to repair an aging Synagogue. Inspirational for any denomination.

[Blanco Meyers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the aspect of community pitching in to help.

But I didn't care for Rabbi Ruben's haphazard approach to fixing things. If it was meant to be humorous (using challah dough to fix leaky pipes) then the other repairs should have been humorous too.

[Kathy Temean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Rabbi Ruben. From his first step into his Synagogue, even with all it's flews, he loves it. He rolls up his sleeves and tackles the drafty windows using table clothes. He nails down the wooden floors to stop the creaks, then he pulls out a wrench to fix the kitchen faucet and tugs it so hard it squirts water in his face. Later, when the congregation goes to return their pray books to the library, the floor boards flip up and trips Rabbi Ruben. He gasps, “Oy, oy, oy! I thought I’d fixed the floor."

Several people chime in, “Time for a new floor. We’ll share the work and get it done.”
Rabbi Ruben feels a wave of relief sweep over him. “A home is about sharing.” 

When the food is laid out, the kitchen faucet bursts open right before the blessing. Rabbi Ruben cries, "A home is for helping. A home is for sharing. I’ve ruined everything.”
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Litwak said. “Nothing is ruined. And we’re here to help!”
“A home is about helping,” the Weinstein girls said.
“A home is about sharing,” said Ms. Havis.
“And a home is about caring,” said the Tuchclapper boys.
“Caring for each other,” added the littlest Litwak.
Rabbi Ruben grinned.

I love how everyone comes together and works all week to fix up the old building. The message is clear. Things are always better when you work together helping, sharing, and caring for each other.

Laurel Molk's illustrations are a perfect fit for this book. The facial expressions are spot on and add so much to the story. The soft colors set the stage and let the reader feel the reverence deserving of a synagogue. The characters are fun and lively, so much great movement. I enjoyed how much action Alice McGinty put into the story giving Laurel a chance to show off her skills depicted all that energy in her illustrations. I also, thought the dog was a nice addition. This is a book families and children will want to read over and over again.

[Taylor Kundel-Gower · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've noticed a common trend with reviews of cute little Jewish picture books (i.e. Chris Barash's series) is giving a poor review because the book didn't explain what a synagogue is, what challah is, what Shabbat is, what Yom Kippur is, and on and on, and now they're confused and didn't learn anything and what a waste. There are plenty of nonfiction resources where one could find explanations for such things. Perhaps consider that this book is simply a sweet little story that Jewish children can enjoy without a zillion boring, didactic explanations. Really cute illustrations, a diverse cast of characters, humor, and a lovely message about the importance of coming together as a community to solve problems.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 1 out of 5]

IT IS TOO WORDY!

What could have been a wonderful dive into Jewish heritage and culture (and learning about Shabbat and challah and Yom Kippur) is heavily distracted by walls of text. (And not in a good font I might add)

As someone who attends church and knows how it truly is a home to many, I want to be able to share books about other places of worship. This one, sigh, did not resonate with me.

[Christie Kaaland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though Rabbi Ruben is not much of a repair expert, his heart is in the right place when he moves throughout the synagogue "fixing" all that needs repair: a bit of tablecloth stuffed in the windows to stop the breeze, a bit of challah dough to fix a leaky pipe. When during the service all his repairs come to rest on the congregation's notice, members of the synagogue work together as a family to help with better repairs.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that this is a story about the Jewish community working together to fix their synagogue. It's refreshing to have a Jewish picture book (any Jewish book) that is not about the Holocaust; those are very important but if that's *all* there is, that is also not acceptable. The illustrations are charming in a watercolor style. The plot is also cute but a little wordy. May have some terms unfamiliar to those who do not have background knowledge, such as challah dough, Shabbat, etc.

[Martha Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rabbi Ruben sees that the synagogue has drafty windows, loose floor boards, and a leaky sink and tries to fix them himself, but just makes them worse. The congregation pitches in to help and fixes everything. A fun story about community, helping, sharing, and caring. Multicultural community, fun names like Mrs. Tuchclapper, expressive pictures.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another McGinty book about a rabbi. Remember Rabbi Benjamin's Buttons? Rabbi Reuven tries to fix all the broken things in the synagogue before Shabbat. Charming story (inaccuracies aside) with delightful illustrations. I was intrigued by the multiracial congregation.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very cute and humorous story but it is just a bit to wordy for me. I think that anyone can enjoy it but it is very Jewish and will be especially relatable to Jewish families who attend synagogue and kids with Jewish elders in their lives.

[Lori Tart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful look inside the life of a synagogue and it's people. A good lesson for anyone who believes differently so they can learn the Jewish customs and see the beauty of their synagogues and how they're similar and different to churches.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet story of a community working together.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warm, light-hearted story about a community working together.

[Clementine · Rating 4 out of 5]

a serviceable look at a community coming together/teamwork/etc. i appreciated the diversity of the congregation, but i'm not sure how fully memorable this one is.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet and gently funny book about community and working together.

Themes: Community, Sharing, Judaism
Age range: Toddler-Early Elementary

[Maya]

Sweet and funny.

Nice representation in the illustrations.

[Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this ❤️

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful book about community as a Rabbi tries to fix up his Synagogue with a few missteps. Elementary and up

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly story—but a playful one in an important setting.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story and illustrations 💕 very sweet

[Kaylee Rockbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely little picture book! The power of community, gumption, and cute illustrations cannot be stopped :)

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This just warmed my heart!

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a good laugh at the way the rabbi fixes the sink. It was obvious it was not going to work!

What a fun story with Jewish representation.

[Alexis Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the representation in this book as well. It shows how many different cultures can come together as one to great something wonderful and that is a great lesson to children.

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story about community and fellowship within a Jewish synagogue. When their synagogue is in need of repairs everyone comes together to help Rabbi Rubin make it happen.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel the story is a bit too much with moral teachings that it loses its charm. The dog is cute!

[Emma Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There they were, together-helping, sharing caring. And their synagogue felt just like home."

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5