Hello dear friends! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by today…and I know you will be, too…because we are celebrating the book birthday of a wonderful new book written by the talented Rachelle Burk and brilliantly illustrated by Craig Orback.
It’s always a joy when authors return to Picture Books Help Kids Soar…and I’m thrilled to welcome Rachelle who has agreed to share the story behind the story.
ME: Hello my friend! So nice to see you here again. I’m hoping you can share a bit about the book and how it came to be.
RACHELLE: It’s lovely to be here, Vivian. Thank you for helping to celebrate my newest book. And it certainly does have a wonderful backstory.
Diving Deep on Rosh Hashanah
by Rachelle Burk
illustrated by Craig Orback
I love adventure! A few years ago, I wrote Space Torah: Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman’s Cosmic Mitzvah—a true adventure picture book set in space. Next came Passover on Everest, the story of a mother-daughter climbing team who held a Seder on the world’s highest peak. As a scuba diver, I knew my next book had to dive into a true, Jewish-themed ocean adventure.
That dream is now a reality with my new picture book biography: Diving Deep on Rosh Hashanah: Reverse Tashlich for a Better World.
The book tells the inspiring true story of Rabbi Ed Rosenthal. He created “Reverse Tashlich,” an environmental tradition where people clean beaches and oceans to practice Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). From this initiative, he founded the organization Repair the Sea (Repairthesea.org).
Our first meeting felt like destiny. When I learned about Rabbi Ed, I was already scheduled to fly to Tampa for a school author visit. Coincidentally, that was exactly where he serves as a college campus rabbi!
He invited me to dive with his college club, the “Scubi-Jews.” Unfortunately, the boat engine failed that day, and we never left the dock. Instead of diving, I spent the afternoon conducting interviews right there on the deck. That boat ride may have been cancelled, but the book was born!
The book follows Ed’s journey from his childhood love of the ocean to the global growth of Repair the Sea. It focuses on modernizing a centuries-old ritual:
Traditional Tashlich involves symbolically casting away past wrongs by tossing breadcrumbs into the water. Reverse Tashlich flips the concept. Instead of putting debris into the water, participants remove physical “sins”—like plastic, trash, and marine debris. This new tradition protects marine life and restores local aquatic ecosystems.
What started as a local project has exploded into a global movement. People of all backgrounds now participate. To date, the initiative has mobilized thousands of volunteers across 6 continents, 31 countries, 307 communities!
Rabbi Ed and I are celebrating the book launch with a unique event in Palm Beach, Florida. The celebration will include scuba diving and an underwater “reading” of the book, with the audio dubbed in after the dive!
Stay tuned—the fourth book in my true Jewish adventure series is already in the works, featuring a true Hanukkah story set deep in a cave!
facebook.com/rachelleburk instagram.com/rachelleburkpurchasing:
ME: THIS IS FABULOUS, RACHELLE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING ALL OF THIS.
And now, friends, here’s a little bit about the creators of this fabulous new book.
Bios:
Author:
Rachelle is the author of over twenty fiction and nonfiction titles for children ages 0-13. Her books include Don’t Turn the Page!, How to Be an Awesome Toddler: 50 Easy Rhymes to Make Growing Up Exciting & Fun, and Stomp Wiggle Clap & Tap. Biographies are The Story of Simone Biles, The Story of Taylor Swift, The Story of Caitlin Clark, and Happy Birthday to You: The Sisters Who Wrote the Most Famous Song in the World. Rachelle’s science-adventure novel, The Walking Fish, received a Science Teaching Association/National Book Council Outstanding Science Trade Book award.
She has also published acclaimed Jewish children’s picture books such as She’s a Mensch! Jewish Women Who Rocked the World; Space Torah: Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman’s Cosmic Mitzvah; Diving Deep on Rosh Hashanah; Passover on Everest; Mitzvah for George Washington and Matzah Ball Chase. Rachelle loves to visit elementary and preschools around the country with her dynamic author visit programs. Visit her at www.RachelleBurk.com
Illustrator
CRAIG ORBACK has illustrated over 20 children’s books, including Space Torah: Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman’s Cosmic Mitzvah, Passover on Everest, Diving Deep on Rosh Hashanah, The Boxcar Children, and Starring Steven Spielberg: The Making of a Young Filmmaker. Craig lives near Seattle, WA, where he teaches children’s book illustration classes at several local colleges. Visit www.craigorback.com to see more of his work.
Thank you all for spending your precious time with us. Stay tuned for a Perfect Picture Book Friday post later this month as we celebrate a new book from the lovely Kim Larson…DOLL TROUBLE!
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 