I really liked this one! This is a multi-generational story that starts with the main character, David, as a small boy. His grandfather is a sofer, or scribe, and is responsible for making new Torahs to replace damaged ones. The holy books cannot be thrown away and he develops quite a collection, that later passes on to his grandson along with his skills. There are references to historic events such as the Holocaust and Hurricane Katrina. Aside from learning about some etiquette surrounding the holy book, The Patchwork Torah touches on history and tradition, as well as recycling and reuse.

I actually teared up while reading this picture book. I loved the story and while the illustrations are very old-fashioned, they are quite beautiful! The composition and characters are really well done. I don't know how appealing this is to kids, but as an adult I like it very much.

Literacy cafe foods: There are none mentioned in the book, but as the story start on Simchat Torah and is really about the holy book, scroll-shaped foods like stuffed cabbage and blintzes would be appropriate. (I googled it, haha. There are also Torah-shaped cookies, but I do actually really enjoy stuffed cabbage and blintzes, so that is what I would make.)

Literacy cafe crafts/writing: To bring in the recycling aspect, use pieces of scratch paper and join them with glue or tape (sewing with yarn or thread would be ok for older kids). Then draw and/or write about an item that was damaged or old, but could be repaired rather than thrown away. I really like the idea of exploring this concept in practice as well (like, have the child look for an item at home, repair it, then write in the recycled scroll about the reasons and process behind the project).

It brought the Lovey Repair project to mind, and while the blog seems to be defunct you can still browse through the previous posts: http://www.loveyrepair.com/

I also think trying to write with a quill and ink would be a good project for older kids (I actually find it kind of frustrating, haven't figured it out) whether they're trying to write Hebrew or just cursive (another skill which apparently is fading fast in our culture). I think this would be a crazy mess to try with little kids, since pigmented ink stains really badly and trimming quills properly would require them to use a sharp blade.