Absent without Leif Book

Sarah Leah Jacobs is very upset with her older brother, Aaron. He doesn't have time to read a story with her, play a board game, even throw a ball back and forth. Aaron is so busy studying for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah, it's as if Sarah doesn't even exist. Hmpf! Sarah will show him! First, she hangs a birdhouse near Aaron's bedroom window to attract a noisy woodpecker. Then, she encourages Mazel, the neighbor's puppy, to run off with her brother's ball and hide it far, far away. And that is only the beginning . . . In this second volume in the delightfully humorous Growing Up Jewish With Sarah Leah Jacobs series, Sarah eventually comes to realize that although her brother is quickly becoming a young man, she will always be his little sister and hold a very special place in his heart. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sylvia Rouss is the acclaimed author of twenty-two books, including The Littlest Pair, winner of the 2002 National Jewish Book Award, and Sammy Spider's First Trip to Israel, winner of the 2002 Sydney Taylor Honor Award for Younger Readers. Even with her success as a writer, Sylvia continues to teach at a Jewish preschool in Los Angeles. Her students, she says, are a never-ending source of inspiration. She also conducts seminars for teachers and does readings at book fairs and festivals throughout the country and in Israel. But of all the things in her life, Sylvia is most proud of her three wonderful children. Liz Goulet Dubois received her B.F.A. in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, and has been illustrating and designing products for children ever since. Her artwork has appeared on everything from plush toys and figurines to greeting cards and picture books. She lives in Scituate, Rhode Island, with her husband, Eric, three lovely daughters, and two lazy cats!