Jules, Jacqueline 1956-

Personal

Born November 22, 1956, in Petersburg, VA; daughter of Otto (a winemaker) and Jeanne (a homemaker); married; husband's name Alan (an attorney); children: Kevin, Neal. Education: University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1979; University of Maryland, M.L.S., 2001. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, walking, attending the theatre.

Addresses

Home—Northern VA. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Librarian, poet, and children's author. Timber Lane Elementary School, Falls Church, VA, school librarian.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC, Authors Guild.

Awards, Honors

Arlington Arts Moving Words Poetry Competition, winner, 1999, 2007; Notable Books for Young Readers citation, Association of Jewish Libraries, and National Jewish Book Award finalist, both 2002, both for The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story; SCBWI magazine Merit Honor Plaque, 2002, for poem "At Bat"; Great Hanukkah Books for Children selection, Sydney Taylor Award Committee, for The Ziz and the Hanukkah Miracle.

Writings

The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust, illustrated by Mike Cressy, Alef Design Group (Los Angeles, CA), 1995.

Once upon a Shabbos, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar-Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 1998.

Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year, illustrated by Sally Springer, Kar-Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 2001.

The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar-Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 2001.

Noah and the Ziz (sequel to The Hardest Word), illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar-Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2004.

The Ziz and the Hanukkah Miracle, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar-Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

No English, illustrated by Amy Huntington, Mitten Press (Ann Arbor, MI), 2007.

Abraham's Search for God, illustrated by Natascia Ugliano, Kar-Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Sarah Laughs, illustrated by Natascia Ugliano, Kar-Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2008.

The Princess and the Ziz, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar-Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2009.

Author of poem "At Bat." Contributor of short stories and poetry to magazines, including Highlights for Children, Spider, Cricket, Cicada, and the Internet magazine Wee Ones.

Sidelights

Jacqueline Jules admits that she is "a voracious reader, totally in love with children's literature." A school librarian, she shares her enthusiasm for reading by writing children's books for preschool through middle-grade audiences. "Children's stories are direct, honest, and to the point," Jules once explained to SATA.

Jules' first book for young readers, The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust, explores the legacy of the Holocaust through a tender relationship between a grandchild and her grandparents. Nine-year-old Frannie accidentally finds a grey striped shirt with a yellow star in her grandparents' closet. This discovery begins a gradual discovery of what happened to her grandparents during the Holocaust. Illustrated with several full-page pen-and-ink drawings, The Grey Striped Shirt asserts that surviving was an act of resistance. In a School Library Journal review, Micki S. Nevett dubbed The Grey Striped Shirt "a moving" story about a memorable point in twentieth-century history.

Several of Jules' books for younger readers were inspired by her work as a Jewish educator. Praised by Booklist contributor Ellen Mandel as providing "a wealth of preschool and primary-school enrichment and at-home fun," Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year contains original rhymes and games, as well as traditional nursery rhymes adapted for a Jewish audience. An adaptation of an old American folktale, Once upon a Shabbos features a honey-stealing bear and a no-nonsense Jewish grandmother who meet up with each other in the unlikely environs of Brooklyn, New York. In Publishers Weekly a contributor dubbed Once upon a Shabbos a "fun picture book" in which the "playful, warm mood" is reflected in the paintings by Katherine Janus Kahn.

Jules collaborates with illustrator Kahn on several other picture books that mix fantasy with Jewish traditions. The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story is a fantasy tale about a clumsy but well-meaning bird called the Ziz who learns how to say "I'm sorry." The Ziz returns in Noah and the Ziz, and this time his overwhelming strength and extreme enthusiasm make his efforts to help Noah gather the animals together onto the ark more hindrance than help. In The Ziz and the Hanukkah Miracle the ungainly bird returns, this time to help Judah find a way to keep the menorah alight for eight days in the temple, thus allowing the miracle now celebrated during Hanukkah. Calling The Ziz and the Hanukkah Miracle "a droll version of a holiday tale," a Kirkus Reviews writer also praised Kahn's colorful depiction of the Ziz as a "goofy-looking overgrown yellow-bodied bird" with feathers of purple and red. The Princess and the Ziz is a retelling of a folktale about King Solomon's daughter, who was imprisoned in a tower, but united with her prince through the help of a gigantic bird called the Ziz.

In Abraham's Search for God Jules imagines the childhood of Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Based on interpretations of biblical legends, she presents Abraham as a curious boy who wants to know who made the clouds and the flowers. In School Library Journal a reviewer called Abraham's Search for God "an excellent introduction to the concept of monotheism" for children of many faiths, and a Publishers Weeklycritic praised Jules' "accessible text."

In No English two second-grade girls find a creative way to communicate in spite of a language barrier. The book was based on Jules' experience as a school librarian and is dedicated to the staff and students of Timber Lane Elementary, where she works. "The character of Bianca in No English was inspired by a fifth grader who came to my library every day to get new books in Spanish," Jules explained on her home page. "Every time I spoke to her, she shook her pretty head and smiled shyly, before saying ‘No English.’ I tried to imagine what it must be like to be surrounded by people who spoke words I couldn't understand. I thought of ways I could reach out to her. The character of Diane is really me and how I felt, trying to make friends with someone who spoke a different language."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2001, Ellen Mandel, review of Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year, p. 577; October 1, 2007, review of Abraham's Search for God.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2006, review of The Ziz and the Hanukkah Miracle, p. 1130; August 1, 2007, review of Abraham's Search for God.

Publishers Weekly, January 25, 1999, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 89.

School Library Journal, March, 1995, Micki S. Nevett, review of The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust, p. 205; April, 1999, Lilien Ferguson, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 100; June, 2005, Kathy Piehl, review of Noah and the Zig, p. 117; September, 2007, review of Abraham's Search for God.

ONLINE

Jacqueline Jules Home Page,http://www.jacquelinejules.com (October 17, 2007).

JULES, Jacqueline 1956-

Personal

Born November 22, 1956, in Petersburg, VA; daughter of Otto (a winemaker) and Jeanne (a homemaker; maiden name, Goldstein) Selig; married Alan Hechtkopf (an attorney); children: Kevin, Neal. Education: University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1979; University of Maryland, M.L.S., 2001. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, hiking.

Addresses

Agent— c/o Author Mail, Kar Ben Copies, 1251 Washington Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55401. E-mail— [email protected].

Career

Timber Lane Elementary School, Falls Church, VA, school librarian. Also works as a storyteller and teacher; guest speaker at schools.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C., Authors Guild.

Awards, Honors

Notable Books for Young Readers citation, Association of Jewish Libraries, and National Jewish Book Award finalist, both 2002, both for The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story; SCBWI magazine Merit Honor Plaque, 2002, for the poem "At Bat."

Writings

The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust, illustrated by Mike Cressy, Alef Design Group (Los Angeles, CA), 1995.

Once upon a Shabbos, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 1998.

Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year, illustrated by Sally Springer, Kar Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 2001.

The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 2001.

Noah and the Ziz (sequel to The Hardest Word ), illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2004.

Author of poem "At Bat." Contributor of short stories and poetry to magazines, including Highlights for Children, Spider, Cricket, Cicada, and the Internet magazine Wee Ones.

Work in Progress

Another story featuring the character Ziz, to be published in 2006.

Sidelights

Jacqueline Jules told SATA: "I am a voracious reader, totally in love with children's literature. Children's stories are direct, honest, and to the point." A school librarian and storyteller, Jules also writes children's books for preschool through middle-grade audiences.

The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust is aimed at readers aged eight to ten. In the book, a young girl rummaging through her grandparents' closet stumbles upon an old striped shirt with a yellow star on it. She asks about it and, over a period of time, her grandparents describe to Frannie what happened to them during the Holocaust. One of Frannie's most difficult questions is to wonder why the Jews did not seem to fight back. Jules's book tackles that sensitive issue and other related topics. Jules commented on her Web site: "I purposely set out to write a book for children too old for David Adler's The Number on My Grandfather's Arm and too young for Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. When The Grey Striped Shirt was reviewed in School Library Journal, the reviewer mentioned those two books and said I had achieved exactly what I had set out to do." That reviewer, Micki S. Nevett, called The Grey Striped Shirt "a moving book."

Jules's books for younger readers have emerged, in part, from her work as a storyteller for preschool children. Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year contains original rhymes and games, as well as traditional nursery rhymes adapted for a Jewish audience. Once upon a Shabbos is an adaptation of an old American folktale featuring a honey-stealing bear and a no-nonsense Jewish grandmother in the unlikely environs of Brooklyn, New York. The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story is a fantasy tale about a clumsy bird who has to learn how to say "I'm sorry." Jules reported on her Web site that future stories will be inspired by ideas from her students at her school library in Falls Church, Virginia.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2001, Ellen Mandel, review of Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year, p. 577.

Horn Book Guide, fall, 1999, Amy Kellman, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 256; spring, 2002, Amy Kellman, review of The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story, p. 107.

Publishers Weekly, January 25, 1999, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 89.

School Library Journal, March, 1995, Micki S. Nevett, review of The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust, p. 205; April, 1999, Lilien Ferguson, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 100.

ONLINE

Jacqueline Jules, http://www.jacquelinejules.com/ (March 17, 2004).

JULES, Jacqueline 1956-

PERSONAL:

Born November 22, 1956, in Petersburg, VA; daughter of Otto (a winemaker) and Jeanne (a homemaker; maiden name, Goldstein) Selig; married Alan Hechtkopf (an attorney); children: Kevin, Neal. Education: University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1979; University of Maryland, M.L.S., 2001. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, hiking.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Kar Ben Copies, 1251 Washington Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55401. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Timber Lane Elementary School, Falls Church, VA, school librarian. Also works as a storyteller and teacher; guest speaker at schools.

MEMBER:

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C., Authors Guild.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Notable Books for Young Readers citation, Association of Jewish Libraries, and National Jewish Book Award finalist, both 2002, both for The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story; Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators magazine Merit Honor Plaque, 2002, for the poem "At Bat."

WRITINGS:

The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust, illustrated by Mike Cressy, Alef Design Group (Los Angeles, CA), 1995.

Once upon a Shabbos, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 1998.

Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year, illustrated by Sally Springer, Kar Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 2001.

The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar Ben Copies (Rockville, MD), 2001.

Noah and the Ziz (sequel to The Hardest Word), illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn, Kar Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2004.

Author of poem "At Bat." Contributor of short stories and poetry to magazines, including Highlights for Children, Spider, Cricket, Cicada, and the Internet magazine Wee Ones.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Another story featuring the character Ziz, to be published in 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jacqueline Jules once commented: "I am a voracious reader, totally in love with children's literature. Children's stories are direct, honest, and to the point." A school librarian and storyteller, Jules also writes children's books for preschool through middle-grade audiences.

The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust is aimed at younger readers. In the book, a young girl rummaging through her grandparents' closet stumbles upon an old striped shirt with a yellow star on it. She asks about it and, over a period of time, her grandparents describe to Frannie what happened to them during the Holocaust. One of Frannie's most difficult questions is to wonder why the Jews did not seem to fight back. Jules's book tackles that sensitive issue and other related topics. Jules commented on her Web site: "I purposely set out to write a book for children too old for David Adler's The Number on My Grandfather's Arm and too young for Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. When The Grey Striped Shirt was reviewed in School Library Journal, the reviewer mentioned those two books and said I had achieved exactly what I had set out to do." That reviewer, Micki S. Nevett, called The Grey Striped Shirt "a moving book."

Jules's books for younger readers have emerged, in part, from her work as a storyteller for preschool children. Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year contains original rhymes and games, as well as traditional nursery rhymes adapted for a Jewish audience. Once upon a Shabbos is an adaptation of an old American folktale featuring a honey-stealing bear and a no-nonsense Jewish grandmother in the unlikely environs of Brooklyn, New York. The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story is a fantasy tale about a clumsy bird who has to learn how to say "I'm sorry." Jules reported on her Web site that future stories will be inspired by ideas from her students at her school library in Falls Church, Virginia.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2001, Ellen Mandel, review of Clap and Count! Action Rhymes for the Jewish Year, p. 577.

Horn Book Guide, fall, 1999, Amy Kellman, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 256; spring, 2002, Amy Kellman, review of The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story, p. 107.

Publishers Weekly, January 25, 1999, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 89.

School Library Journal, March, 1995, Micki S. Nevett, review of The Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust, p. 205; April, 1999, Lilien Ferguson, review of Once upon a Shabbos, p. 100.

ONLINE

Jacqueline Jules Home Page,http://www.jacquelinejules.com/ (March 17, 2004).