Books with author Joel ben Izzy

This hilarious collection of tales will take you back to Joel's liver-lovin' days. As long on laughter as they are short on truth, these tales tell the story of Brian, who loved watermelon, and Brian, who hated watermelon. You'll hear the tale of Moose-Turd Pie and a tale of Paula Bunyan - which was her real name. The zaniness of the tales is matched by the music for a collection of stories you'll want to listen to again and again. Winner of Parents' Choice Silver Award.

Joel's first recording will carry you from the old city of Jerusalem to the subways of Tokyo, from the bath houses in Turkey to a village in China, with a detour through Chelm, the mystical Jewish village of fools. The stories are beautifully woven together by clarinet music and strains of laughter. Winner of the American Library Association Notable Recording Award, as well as the Parents' Choice Gold, it has also been chosen as a "Parents' Choice Classic.

Ghost stories gathered around the world, from a taxi in Hong Kong to a cemetery in Israel and one memorable tale set on a Halloween in suburbs of Los Angeles. These are some of the scariest and funniest tales Joel has found. This collection includes "The Green Hand" - a tale which actually found Joel, deep within a cave outside of Rome. Accompanied by an eclectic mix of creepy music, these are a great assortment of tales for late October, when the days grow dark.

Joel tells the stories closest to his heart, including the bittersweet tales of his father, in a collection that will carry you from Poland to Spain to Haiti and even the suburbs of Los Angeles. You'll meet Herschel of Ostropol and Merisier - stronger than elephants. All the stories are woven together with music to match in this tale of laughter and tears stretching around the world and back again.The editors of Booklist magazine named this an "Editor's Choice".

This inspiring memoir by a storyteller who lost his voice, and gained some unexpected wisdom, is “nothing less than a spiritual odyssey” (San Francisco Chronicle). “Heartwarming and smart and wonderfully written,” this is that rare, magical book—a book that tells a good story, but also shows us how the tales we learned when we were children shed light on our adult lives (Detroit Free Press). An award-winning professional storyteller, Joel ben Izzy had the unusual opportunity to relive those lessons when he lost his voice after undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer, and reconnected with his old teacher, Lenny. Through his meetings with Lenny, Joel rediscovers the wisdom of ancient tales and takes us on a journey into a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses and buried treasures—and in the end tells us the secret of happiness. “This is a beautiful book full of old tales—from China, India, Persia, Jerusalem—that help storyteller Joel ben Izzy through dark times of silence and back into light and sound once more. Wonderful!” —Grace Paley “Heartfelt . . . This brief book speaks to people in trouble. It provides edifying advice, intimately given, like the best-selling Tuesdays with Morrie.” —The Dallas Morning News “What a gift, what a blessing, funny, brilliant, wise.” —Anne Lamott

"Wonderful!” (Grace Paley). “Heartwarming and smart and wonderfully written” (Detroit Free Press). “Provides edifying advice, intimately given, like the best-selling Tuesdays with Morrie” (the Dallas Morning News). “Altogether original” (Dr. Laura Schlessinger). “This story will speak to the humanity of the reader” (Jewish Book World). The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness is that rare, magical book—a book that tells a good story but also shows us how the tales we learned when we were children shed light on our adult lives. Joel ben Izzy had the unusual opportunity to relive those lessons when he lost his voice and reconnected with his old teacher, Lenny, a retired storyteller. Through his meetings with Lenny, Joel rediscovers the wisdom of ancient tales and takes us on a journey into a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses and buried treasures—and in the end tells us the secret of happiness.

At last a great American Hanukkah story! This very funny, very touching novel of growing up Jewish has the makings of a holiday classic.One lousy miracle. Is that too much to ask?Evidently so for Joel, as he tries to survive Hannukah, 1971 in the suburbs of the suburbs of Los Angeles (or, as he calls it, “The Land of Shriveled Dreams”). That’s no small task when you’re a “seriously funny-looking” twelve-year-old magician who dreams of being his own superhero: Normalman. And Joel’s a long way from that as the only Jew at Bixby School, where his attempts to make himself disappear fail spectacularly. Home is no better, with a family that’s not just mortifyingly embarrassing but flat-out broke. That’s why Joel’s betting everything on these eight nights, to see whether it’s worth believing in God or miracles or anything at all. Armed with his favorite jokes, some choice Yiddish words, and a suitcase full of magic tricks, he’s scrambling to come to terms with the world he lives in—from hospitals to Houdini to the Holocaust—before the last of the candles burns out. No wonder his head is spinning: He’s got dreidels on the brain. And little does he know that what’s actually about to happen to him and his family this Hanukkah will be worse than he’d feared . . . And better than he could have imagined.

At last a great American Hanukkah story! This very funny, very touching novel of growing up Jewish has the makings of a holiday classic.One lousy miracle. Is that too much to ask?Evidently so for Joel, as he tries to survive Hannukah, 1971 in the suburbs of the suburbs of Los Angeles (or, as he calls it, “The Land of Shriveled Dreams”). That’s no small task when you’re a “seriously funny-looking” twelve-year-old magician who dreams of being his own superhero: Normalman. And Joel’s a long way from that as the only Jew at Bixby School, where his attempts to make himself disappear fail spectacularly. Home is no better, with a family that’s not just mortifyingly embarrassing but flat-out broke. That’s why Joel’s betting everything on these eight nights, to see whether it’s worth believing in God or miracles or anything at all. Armed with his favorite jokes, some choice Yiddish words, and a suitcase full of magic tricks, he’s scrambling to come to terms with the world he lives in—from hospitals to Houdini to the Holocaust—before the last of the candles burns out. No wonder his head is spinning: He’s got dreidels on the brain. And little does he know that what’s actually about to happen to him and his family this Hanukkah will be worse than he’d feared . . . And better than he could have imagined.

At last a great American Hanukkah story! This very funny, very touching novel of growing up Jewish has the makings of a holiday classic.One lousy miracle. Is that too much to ask?Evidently so for Joel, as he tries to survive Hannukah, 1971 in the suburbs of the suburbs of Los Angeles (or, as he calls it, “The Land of Shriveled Dreams”). That’s no small task when you’re a “seriously funny-looking” twelve-year-old magician who dreams of being his own superhero: Normalman. And Joel’s a long way from that as the only Jew at Bixby School, where his attempts to make himself disappear fail spectacularly. Home is no better, with a family that’s not just mortifyingly embarrassing but flat-out broke. That’s why Joel’s betting everything on these eight nights, to see whether it’s worth believing in God or miracles or anything at all. Armed with his favorite jokes, some choice Yiddish words, and a suitcase full of magic tricks, he’s scrambling to come to terms with the world he lives in—from hospitals to Houdini to the Holocaust—before the last of the candles burns out. No wonder his head is spinning: He’s got dreidels on the brain. And little does he know that what’s actually about to happen to him and his family this Hanukkah will be worse than he’d feared . . . And better than he could have imagined.

When a storyteller loses his voice, he believes he's lost everything. In fact, he's been given a great gift.Once upon a time, a successful storyteller lost his voice to throat cancer. Deprived of the instrument of his art and his livelihood, he retreated into dark, sullen silence and depression. While searching for a spiritual explanation, he encountered his former mentor, a cantankerous and often drunk old man. Their meetings began a journey into the timeless wisdom of ancient tales: of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses, buried treasures, and ultimately the secret of happiness.In this altogether original book, Joel ben Izzy shares his personal account of surviving loss, gaining wisdom, and rediscovering one's true purpose. Weaving in tales he's collected over the years from Sufi, Muslim, Chinese, Jewish, Iraqi, Zen Buddhist, Italian, and Indian cultures, he passes along the lessons he has learned. As we travel with Izzy from tragedy back into light and sound, we are encouraged to see our own lives as stories, and to open our own hearts to happiness.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy recounts an international mix of creepy tales that will take you from a taxi in Hong Kong to a graveyard in Israel, from the frozen Yukon to the suburbs of Los Angeles. You'll end up in a cave in the hills outside of Rome where Joel found the title story - or rather, it found him. As he recounts it you'll hear the bizarre tale of Joel's first job as a storyteller, which was very nearly his last. You'll hear the following: Creepy Car Tales (from California, Hawaii & Hong Kong) How I Got Bill the Chicken (California) The Cremation of Sam McGee (Canada) King Solomon & Death/The Graveyard in Safed (Israel) The Green Hand (Italy) This collection of stories, all told with music to match, is as funny as it is scary. It received an Award of Excellence from the Film Advisory Board.