A Dress Becomes A Community’s Heart In With A Needle And Thread By Jennifer Stempel

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, in With a Needle and Thread by Jennifer Stempel, one outgrown dress, lovingly re-sewn by Abuelita with lo que sea, becomes a blanket, tallis, chuppah, and forever banner for a vibrant Cuban-Jewish community.

With A Needle And Thread

There’s something quietly miraculous about a children’s book that feels like it was carried across an ocean in someone’s suitcase and then unfolded, page by page, for the rest of us. That is With a Needle and Thread: A Jewish Folktale from Cuba by Jennifer Stempel, with illustrations by Libi Axelrod (Kalaniot Books, 2024).

In the sun-soaked streets of Santiago de Cuba, one little girl’s outgrown dress refuses to be retired. Guided by Abuelita’s steady hands and the unstoppable Cuban refrain lo que sea—“whatever it takes”—it keeps transforming into something more sacred with every loving stitch.

The story itself is simple and perfect. Romi has outgrown her favorite dress. Rather than let it languish in a drawer, Abuelita snips, turns, and re-sews the fabric into a blanket for a newborn at his bris. Years later those same pieces become a tallis draped over a bar mitzvah boy’s shoulders. In time they rise again as the flowing chuppah beneath which a bride and groom promise forever. Finally, the cloth—now softened by countless hands and celebrations—takes its place as the beloved banner at the center of every community simcha. One dress, many lifetimes, all held together by thread and memory.

Written from the Inside Out

Jennifer Stempel wrote this book from the inside out. Raised between Cuban kitchens fragrant with garlic and cumin and Jewish tables glowing with Shabbat candles, she has returned to the island again and again to sit with the small, resilient Jewish community that raised her grandparents. The Yiddish-tinged Spanish, the easy mingling of Sephardi songs and Ashkenazi recipes, the creative thrift born of scarcity—it’s all here, warm and authentic. When she reads the line “lo que sea,” you can almost hear her own abuelita’s voice behind it.

Illustrations That Feel Hand-Stitched

Libi Axelrod’s artwork feels hand-stitched itself. Washed in tropical light and island color, every spread glows with ochre walls, emerald palms, and the deep indigo of evening prayer shawls. A menorah shares shelf space with a tiny cafecito pot; children dance a conga line at a wedding; the fabric moves through the pages like a bright thread you can follow with your finger. The art never steals the story—it cradles it.

Why This Book Belongs on Every Shelf

This book belongs wherever creativity, heritage, and stubborn love are celebrated. It honors sustainability long before the word was trendy, opens a window into a Cuban-Jewish world most readers have never seen, and gently invites children to talk about what we keep, what we transform, and what we pass down. Kalaniot Books even offers free activity guides, because this is the kind of story that begs to spill off the page and into real life.

The Warmest Possible Ambassador

Jennifer herself is the warmest possible ambassador for the tale. When she isn’t writing picture books that make librarians cry (in the best way), she’s running her beloved food blog The Cuban Reuben—yes, that Cuban Reubén sandwich is hers—or leading workshops where children learn to cook their heritage and tell their own stories. She’s available for visits, virtual or in person, and if you ever get the chance to hear her say “¡Bendición, mija!” you’ll understand why this book feels sewn straight from her heart.

One Last Loving Stitch

With a Needle and Thread isn’t just a lovely read-aloud. It’s a quiet reminder that the things we love never really leave us. They change shape, gather new meaning, and keep wrapping the people we love in warmth for years to come.

If you’ve read it with a child—or with the child you used to be—I’d love to know what it stirred in you. There’s room in the comments for every loosened thread and every tightened knot.

Find more from Jennifer Stempel now:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4o969YL

https://www.jenniferstempel.com/about

TheCubanReuben.com

KalaniotBooks.com

@KalaniotBooks