Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup! (Ellie's Deli #1)

by Lisa Greenwald (Author) Galia Bernstein (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: Ellie's Deli

From Lisa Greenwald, the beloved author of the TBH and Friendship List series, comes a new series about a girl trying to save her family's deli.

Ellie's family owns the town deli. Its official name is Lukshen Deli, but everybody calls it Ellie's Deli. When a restaurant group threatens to move in and take over, tenacious Ellie and her BFFs must prove that matzo ball soup and sour pickles are here to stay, in this adorable new middle grade fiction series with recipes and illustrations throughout.

WINNER OF THE 2023 EARPHONES AWARD (AUDIOBOOK)

When Ellie accidentally overhears that her family deli is most likely going to close, she does the only thing she can think of. She makes a wish on matzo ball soup. Eleven-year-old Ellie is feisty, determined, and a little bit anxious. She considers Lukshen Deli part of the family--after all, it's been around for four generations, ever since her great-grandmother opened it. Along with her BFF, Ava; her sisters, Anna and Mabel; her lunch buddies, Aanya, Brynn, Nina, and Sally; and her grandparents, Bubbie and Zeyda, Ellie is determined to prove that old fashioned Jewish delis can get with the times--but if her plan doesn't work, the deli will be sold for good.

Ellie's Deli: Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup contains over 30 charming black-and-white illustrations and 14 recipes for quintessential Jewish American deli food, like challah, chicken soup, blintz souffle, and ruggelach. It's a delightful story about sticking up for what you believe in, business ownership, friendship, and family.

"A cute and concretely Jewish take on a classic storyline." - Kirkus Reviews

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Kirkus

A cute and concretely Jewish take on a classic storyline. 

Review quotes

In this series opener, 11-year-old Ellie Glantz loves her family's kosher deli almost as much as she loves her grandparents Bubbie and Zeyda....[R]eligious practices and Yiddish words suffuse the story with a lived-in Judaism—unrelated to a specific holiday—that does not often appear in mainstream children's books. In buoyant middle-grade fashion, Ellie and [her best friend] Ava join forces to rally the community and update the business in an effort to save the deli....A cute and concretely Jewish take on a classic storyline. - Kirkus Reviews
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781524881115
Lexile Measure
690
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication date
September 20, 2023
Series
Ellie's Deli
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV033020 - Juvenile Fiction | Religious | Jewish
JUV045000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Chapter Books
JUV006000 - Juvenile Fiction | Business, Careers, Occupations
JUV050000 - Juvenile Fiction | Cooking & Food
Library of Congress categories
Families
Soups
Delicatessens
Matzo balls

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