Hi safranim, I am co-editor of the AJL children's book reviews and have noticed a trend but I need someone who knows more about this to comment, please.
It seems that children's illustrators are putting kippot on most of the men and boys in Jewish-themed books, and I assume it is to make them acceptable to all denominations. But I find this a rather false narrative in many of these books. For instance, there is a lovely new picture book about Rabbi Joachim Prinz and how he was a civil rights activist and spoke at the March on Washington, but he is wearing a very visible kippah there at the Lincoln Memorial, and photos of him at the time do not reflect that. Here are my questions for anyone who can help--- and certainly one person would not have to answer all of them-- 1. Would Joachim Prinz be wearing a kippa at any time in public? 2. Do any Jews affiliated with the Reform or Progressive movements ever wear kippot in public? 3. Do Reform Jews wear kippot at all times in the synagogue? Do they have kids wear them at Hebrew school? 4. Would a book be too confusing to children if some men at, say, a sukkot gathering, wear a kippah and some do not? 5. Do Orthodox or more observant denominations only buy picture books if all the men and boys wear kippot? Or do they not buy picture books from secular publishers anyway? 6. When was the practice of wearing knitted or patterned kippot begun in North America? thank you in advance for any light that can be shed on this! Lisa Silverman Co-editor, AJL News and Reviews Curator, Jewish Journal Streaming Guide
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