How interesting that this issue is surfacing for discussion again. I remember and AJL Conference from many years ago that I attended where there was a discussion with publishers of children's books. I believe there were 3 or 4 speakers representing various publishing houses. One of the speakers was a woman (whose name I sadly do not remember) who was I think the founder and head of HaChai Publishing, which publishes picture books for orthodox children. There was a long discussion about whether or not to include head coverings on men in the illustrations in children's books, was this too observant or not, who might be offended or not. The woman from HaChai spoke to this question and said she had the same problem, but her issue was whether the head covering should be the knitted/crocheted type preferred by the modern orthodox, or the black velvet type preferred by the more observant denominations.
As I recall the term Kippot was a relatively new term coming out of Israel and Hebrew. It referred to the knit/crochet variety. It seems to have superseded the older term Yamulka which I always thought was a Yiddish term and referred to the black velvet type. As to question #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?" My experience when marketing my self-published book I Am Standing at Mount Sinai, (which has no male characters illustrated in it) was that the modern orthodox were very pleased with the book and happy to purchase it. BUT the "more observant" local library would not buy it because it did not use the term "Ha Shem" when referring to God. That term is not used very much in Reform or Conservative circles, but is used across the entire spectrum of Orthodoxy. It would greatly surprise me if the "more observant" would purchase anything with illustrations that do not show a head covering. I doubt they would buy from secular publishing houses. I'm not sure about the modern orthodox. I think they would be open to historical accuracy in illustrations found in biographies and history books, such as the book about Rabbi Joachim Prinz. Head coverings on children's book illustrations: to show - or not to show, and how to show, remains a hot topic after all these years. Sherry Wasserman Volunteer Librarian, Congregation B'nai Moshe, W. Bloomfield, MI From: Hasafran <hasafran-bounces+stwasserman=sbcglobal....@lists.osu.edu> On Behalf Of Lisa Silverman via Hasafran Sent: Monday, August 2, 2021 6:41 PM To: Hasafran <hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu> Subject: [ha-Safran] question about kippot 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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