Limmud Toronto 2019

The Greater Toronto Area represents 51% of all of Canada’s Jewish population—but our community is in no way homogenous. Jewish people come from all over the globe: South Africa, Argentina, Israel, Russia, Haiti, England, South Korea. Some are first-generation Canadian, others have been here for over a century. But review a collection of recently published Jewish picture books and this diversity is not represented—especially when it comes to grandparents. This presentation will look at the depiction of Jewish grandparents in eight recent picture books and show how these characters add to the monolithic narrative of the North American Jewish experience through their language, traditional role, and immigrant backstory. Participants will be asked to consider their own story and why now, more than ever, we need to diversify the Jewish experience narrative that we’re telling our children.