ELLIE'S DELI

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.

But their small town’s dwindling Jewish community means they may need to sell the business that’s been in the family for four generations to a developer. Ellie makes for a sympathetic protagonist: a natural worrier, thoughtful friend, and dedicated relative to her loving family. Her fear of losing the deli propels the otherwise slight story. One side plot features the introduction of a new member to her mostly white middle school friend crew and Ellie’s fears that her best friend, Ava, is forgetting about her as she gets to know the new girl. Ava is also worrying over her single mother’s new love interest. Recipes interspersed between chapters include both deli favorites and less familiar staples of Ashkenazi cuisine, grounding the story in the milieu of Ellie’s beloved spot. Similarly, religious 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 Ava join forces to rally the community and update the business in an effort to save the deli. Greenwald keeps the stakes at a low simmer throughout and gathers up every loose end into a sweetly tidy bow. Bernstein’s sweet spot art adds a charming touch.

A cute and concretely Jewish take on a classic storyline.