Books with author Joel ben Izzy

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy takes us on a journey from the marketplace in Tel Aviv to the subways of Tokyo, with side trips to a village in China, a bath house in Turkey and Chelm, the mythical Jewish town of fools. This recording, which received the ALA Notable Recording Award and a Parents' Choice Gold Award, has just been released on CD. It includes the following stories: King Solomon and the Smell of the Bread A Tale from Jerusalem and Tokyo Stories of Nasrudin, the Trickster A Tale of Curses, Blessings & Bee Stings Stories of the Fools of Chelm The Old King and His Daughters The music of a Klezmer clarinet weaves the tales together, making for a performance your family will love.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy recounts an international mix of creepy tales that will take you from the back seat of a taxi in Hong Kong to a graveyard in Israel, and 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 story of Joel's first job as a storyteller - which was very nearly his last. You'll hear the following: Creepy Car Tales (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

"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.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy takes us for a wild ride in this collection of tales about his liver lovin' days, train hopping hobos, moose turd pie and more. As with Joel ben Izzy's other award winning CDs and tapes, this one is a mix of classic tales along with his own adaptations. The title story tells of his disgust when he found, as a kid, that he would have to eat liver (yuck!), and how he went from there to liking liver, loving it in fact, finally leading to an obsession with liver that led him to his life of crime... You'll also hear the famous watermelon stories as well as the tale of Paula Bunyan. (That was her real name.) The bouncy carnival story fits these stories perfectly, making this tape one that you, your family and friends will listen to again and again - and that's the truth! This recording received Parents' Choice Honors.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy recounts some of the tales closest to his heart in this voyage of laughter and tears that will take you around the world and back again. Starting with the title story, based on a Polish folktale, ben Izzy weaves together stories with memories of his father. Among the tales are some hilarious stories of Hershel of Ostropol and a wild Hatian story about the king of the elephants. You'll hear the following: My Father and Hershel of Ostropol (California & The Ukraine) Buried Treasures (Poland & Czechoslovakia) The Road Back Home (Spain & Haiti) One Last Hershel Tale (The Ukraine) This tape was chosen as an Editor's Choice by Booklist Magazine.

“Heartfelt...speaks to people in trouble. It provides edifying advice, intimately given, like the best-selling Tuesdays with Morrie.” --The Dallas Morning News “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 The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness is an altogether original true story about a storyteller who loses his voice and believes he's lost everything. An encounter with his old teacher shows him that, in fact, he's been given a great gift. Their meetings lead him on a journey into the timeless wisdom of ancient tales -- a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses and buried treasures -- and, ultimately, toward the secret of happiness. Joel ben Izzy has spent years traveling the globe, gathering and telling stories, and has produced a series of award-winning storytelling CDs. He also serves as a story consultant to numerous businesses and organizations.