Ellies Deli Wishing on Matzo Ball S..., Lisa Greenwald
Ellies Deli Wishing on Matzo Ball S..., Lisa Greenwald
List: $7.99 | Sale: $5.60
Club: $3.99

Ellie's Deli: Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup!

Author: Lisa Greenwald

Narrator: Gail Shalan

Unabridged: 4 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/05/2023

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

From Lisa Greenwald, the beloved author of the TBH and Friendship List series, comes a new series about a girl trying to save her family's deli. Ellie’s family owns the town deli. Its official name is Lukshen Deli, but everybody calls it Ellie’s Deli. When a restaurant group threatens to move in and take over, tenacious Ellie and her BFFs must prove that matzo ball soup and sour pickles are here to stay, in this adorable new middle grade fiction series with recipes and illustrations throughout.
WINNER OF THE 2023 EARPHONES AWARD (AUDIOBOOK)

When Ellie accidentally overhears that her family deli is most likely going to close, she does the only thing she can think of. She makes a wish on matzo ball soup.

Eleven-year-old Ellie is feisty, determined, and a little bit anxious. She considers Lukshen Deli part of the family—after all, it’s been around for four generations, ever since her great-grandmother opened it. Along with her BFF, Ava; her sisters, Anna and Mabel; her lunch buddies, Aanya, Brynn, Nina, and Sally; and her grandparents, Bubbie and Zeyda, Ellie is determined to prove that old fashioned Jewish delis can get with the times—but if her plan doesn’t work, the deli will be sold for good.
 
Ellie’s Deli: Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup contains over 30 charming black-and-white illustrations and 14 recipes for quintessential Jewish American deli food, like challah, chicken soup, blintz souffle, and ruggelach. It’s a delightful story about sticking up for what you believe in, business ownership, friendship, and family.

"A cute and concretely Jewish take on a classic storyline." - Kirkus Reviews

About Lisa Greenwald

Lisa Greenwald is the author of the TBH books, the Friendship List series, the Pink & Green trilogy, and several other novels for tweens and teens. A graduate of the New School’s MFA program in writing for children, she lives in New York City with her husband, daughters, and mini Bernedoodle, Kibbitz.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Julie

Delightful Book! I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Ellie Glantz considers Lukshen Deli an actual member of the family. After all her family has owned it for four generations. But sales are down, and the business is......more

Goodreads review by Steph

“Feel this moment. Be eleven.” This story of family, wishes, and delicious food (including tons and tons of recipes from their Jewish American deli throughout!) reminded me that maybe I should just feel this moment, and be thirty-nine. Thanks Lisa Greenwald for creating a middle grade book that has a......more

Goodreads review by el (celestialbronz)

Ellie's family owns a deli, but lately its not profiting anymore since there arr fewer and fewer costumers. One day she overheard her parents talked about selling the deli and move on. She's only a 11 y.o, her parents aren't even telling her about this important matter. But she loved the deli so muc......more

Quotes

"Gale Shalan breezily introduces the Lukshen Deli and its owners, the Glantz family. Listeners meet adorable 11-year-old Ellie, along with her family and friends, including her best friend, Ava. When the future of the deli is in question, heartbroken Ellie suggests making deliveries and creating a loyalty program. Shalan sympathetically conveys Ellie’s fears as her beloved Grandma is hospitalized and Ava acquires a new friend. Most revealing is Ellie’s journal, in which she attempts to cope with her anxieties—at the same time teaching young listeners how to cope with their own. Superb descriptions of the Jewish faith and mouthwatering food (with recipes included) add atmosphere. Particularly relatable are Shalan’s characters, especially the girls, with their ever-changing emotions."

"Gale Shalan breezily introduces the Lukshen Deli and its owners, the Glantz family. Listeners meet adorable 11-year-old Ellie, along with her family and friends, including her best friend, Ava. When the future of the deli is in question, heartbroken Ellie suggests making deliveries and creating a loyalty program. Shalan sympathetically conveys Ellie’s fears as her beloved Grandma is hospitalized and Ava acquires a new friend. Most revealing is Ellie’s journal, in which she attempts to cope with her anxieties—at the same time teaching young listeners how to cope with their own. Superb descriptions of the Jewish faith and mouthwatering food (with recipes included) add atmosphere. Particularly relatable are Shalan’s characters, especially the girls, with their ever-changing emotions."

"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....[R]eligious 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 [her best friend] Ava join forces to rally the community and update the business in an effort to save the deli....A cute and concretely Jewish take on a classic storyline."

"A fun sto­ry with believ­able char­ac­ters and solv­able prob­lems, this easy-to-read, mid­dle-grade book will hold the reader’s inter­est and pro­vide excel­lent, humor­ous enter­tain­ment along the way."

"I loved, loved, loved the happy ending, especially because it made sense and the problems were solved realistically."

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List