Years ago, on a cold and sparkly winter afternoon, I sat with my younger sister in the living room, both of us savoring the long, dark pods of chewy bokser we had saved from our Tu BiShvat celebration at Religious School. For us, the smell and taste of this exotic food had become synonymous with our yearly celebration of Tu BiShvat, along with the personalized certificates for the trees we’d planted in Israel. Recently, I wondered if I could find that familiar Tu BiShvat treat. Not sure if “bok

As someone who grew up reading Little Golden Books in which mommies and daddies take care of their obedient children, I like how Maurice Sendak’s stories, by contrast, dive right into the fray of real life—warts and all. As a librarian, I also appreciate what a pioneer Sendak was and how his stories and illustrations broke barriers in children’s literature. I love the edgy realness of his characters—and especially relate to bratty Pierre of I-don’t-care fame who reminds me of my young self answe