THE SEE-YOU-SOON SPICE BOX

Written by Pamela Ehrenberg

Illustrated by Gabby Grant

(Kar-Ben Publishing; $18.99, Ages 3-8)

PICTURE BOOK SUMMARY:

Silas and Great-Grandma Faye always end their video calls with “See you soon!” Great-Grandma Faye says that Havdalah, which separates Shabbat from the rest of the week, is like saying “See you soon!” to Shabbat. She shows Silas a spice box made by his great-grandpa, who used to say, “Havdalah is the time between Shabbat and ordinary days, when we get to feel both kinds of magic at the same time.” Great-Grandma Faye suggests she and Silas make Havdalah together over the internet until they can be together again. Silas makes his own spice box. When Great-Grandma Faye finally comes to visit, they say Havdalah with both spice boxes.

GUEST POST BY AUTHOR PAMELA EHRENBERG:

It’s such an honor to be here as a guest on Good Reads with Ronna—thank you so much for having me!

When I realized that your blog celebrated its 13th (b’nai mitzvah!) year sometime during the pandemic (belated mazel tov!), it made me think about all the ways that different cultures and traditions have come up with for keeping people connected—even in our world where so often we’re pulled by opportunities and experiences to end up living far away from people we love.

The See-You-Soon Spice Box is a modern take on a boy and his great-grandma who meet every week over video call for the Jewish ceremony of Havdalah, which is about saying goodbye (or “see you soon,” until next week!) to the Sabbath.

As a single parent (like the dad in The See-You-Soon Spice Box!), I had many years where in-person connections, especially with far-away friends and family, were super-difficult to schedule. And I think the pandemic made clear that there are a lot of people, for all sorts of reasons—disability, caregiving, job responsibilities, the challenges of life!—who can’t connect in person as often as we’d like.

But the pandemic also reminded us that connections helped by technology are nonetheless real connections with real humans. And that’s one of the wonderful things you’ve done all these years with your blog: you’ve connected creators at all stages of our creative journeys—pre-published, published, re-published, and those of us facing all kinds of uncertainties as we wonder what the next step will bring—and connected us with readers, who have realized all along that stories are one of the main ways that humans have always connected with one another.

At the end of The See-You-Soon Spice Box, when the great-grandma travels for an in-person visit, I think it’s a happy time for the family, to be able to connect in person. But I don’t think it changes their relationships, from the already-strong connections they’ve built across distances. Sometimes I forget that you and I haven’t yet met in person, since your blog makes me feel like I know you so well, even though we live 3000 miles away! Thank you so much for everything you do to keep readers, writers, illustrators, and stories connected in spite of everything!!

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Click this Bookshop.org link to purchase The See-You-Soon Spice Box or purchase a copy at your favorite independent bookseller.

BIOGRAPHY: