(Jewish Group) Children's books by local Jewish authors educate and delight

When the San Francisco dietician and chef Micah Siva searched last summer for a Jewish counting book for her new niece, she was disappointed by the choices. So Siva, who writes a food column for J., and her husband Josh, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, decided to write and publish one themselves.

“1, 2, 3, Nosh With Me” (30 pages, for children under 5) teaches counting with traditional holiday foods, including matzah balls, sufganiyot and hamantaschen. (The Sivas’ dog, Buckwheat, also makes an appearance in the book, which was illustrated by artist Sviatoslav Franko, who lives in Ukraine.)

I grew up in an Ashkenazi family, and my husband grew up in a Sephardic family, so the main decision we had to make [for the book] was which cuisine did we want to lean towards,” Micah Siva, 30, told J. “We chose Ashkenazi cuisine because that was my personal experience growing up.”

Siva, who hails from Calgary, Canada, said she has been surprised by how many non-Jewish parents have bought the book to diversify their children’s bookshelves. “Some people have messaged me on Instagram to ask how to sound out words,” she said. “The more that we can show Jewish joy and excitement around Judaism these days, to both Jews and non-Jews, the better.” (Siva will read the book at the JCC of San Francisco on Sept. 17, and she will lead a challah baking class at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette on Sept. 18.)

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