Shannan Rouss

All of the students in Miss Sharon's class bring in their favorite fruits in order to decorate the Sukkah - a temporary outdoor structure built by Jews to celebrate the festival of Sukkot, which commemorates their wandering in the desert after fleeing Egypt - in this engaging holiday story. Unfortunately, Michael's favorite - a watermelon - proves rather difficult to hang. Will he and his classmates find a way around this difficulty...?

Fortunately for everyone, since Michael's second-favorite fruit proves even more cumbersome (a pumpkin!), the answer is a resounding yes. I appreciated A Watermelon in the Sukkah, which pairs a simple story about children working together to find a solution to a problem, with colorful, cartoon-style artwork. Published by the Kar-Ben imprint of the Lerner Publishing Group, which specializes in Jewish children's books, this title is really intended more for children who already know what Sukkot is, rather than as an introduction to the holiday for those who don't. Recommended to anyone looking for entertaining, lighthearted Sukkot stories for the picture-book set.… (meer)

I met Shannan Rouss at ALA in Boston this past January. Her reading had a certain rhythm that became more evident as she worked through her initial nervousness. When I approached her for a signature, I found out my copy of her first book would be the first she ever signed.

The collection of stories have varying levels of amusement, pathos, dry humor, and near belly laughs. I can’t quote from the stories, because I only have an Advance Uncorrected Reader’s Proof, but I can assure you, faithful reader, I will buy a hard cover of Easy for You when it comes out in March.

My favorite of the collection relates the story of an elderly man protesting the construction of a mansion opposite his nondescript home, which he has occupied for more than several decades. Max finds himself on a one-man crusade. “Beverly Hills Adjacent” has a voice I can hear of an elderly man, alone, missing his wife, his children, and his youth. He takes on this protest in an attempt to fill in some of these holes in his life.

Six of the ten stories have a woman narrator, and the four narrated by men lose nothing in the telling. The most poignant story is “Neither Here Nor There.” This slightly suspenseful story has an eerie feeling about a dead child.

I thoroughly enjoyed every one of these stories. 5 stars

--Jim, 2/22/10… (meer)