Ellie's Deli: Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup! - by Lisa Greenwald

About the Book

"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."--Provided by publisher.

Book 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

Review Quotes

"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." (Michal Hoschander Malen, Jewish Book Council)

"I loved, loved, loved the happy ending, especially because it made sense and the problems were solved realistically." (Karen Yingling, Ms Yingling Reads)

"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." (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author

Lisa Greenwald lives in New York City with her husband and two young daughters. She loves sunglasses, reading, the beach, and sushi. She is the author of beloved series such as the TBH series, the Friendship List, and the Pink & Green series. Visit her at www.lisagreenwald.com.

Galia Bernstein was born and raised in Israel. Today, she is a full-time illustrator and author who also works in textile design and ceramics.Her debut author/illustrated picture book, I AM A CAT, was published by Abrams Books for Young Readers in 2018, received 3 star reviews, and was translated into 15 languages.Her second picture book, LEYLA, was published May 2019, with a starred review from PW, was named as a Summer 2019 Selection by the Junior Library Guild and was translated to 6 languages.​Galia lives in Brooklyn, New York.