Welcome, all!

Leah Bracha K. Sharp’s education informs her writing in articles, poetry, plays and children’s picture books. Her understanding of English literature and psychology is an important component in her writing process, but, overall, it is her desire to connect to others through the written word and to share this joy and love of writing that continues to propel her forward.

Leah Bracha is a member of the SCBWI and the SSCBWI group (Shomer Shabbat Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators group) and has written numerous human-interest articles for the Jewish Link of Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut newspaper. Her poems have appeared in The American Poetry Review and The Birmingham Arts Journal, among others, and she placed first, on the national level, for her poem, Tender, in the 2016 Hackney Literary Awards. Her debut children’s picture book, The Challah Girl, placed as a 2019 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Silver Medalist Award Winner, for the "Best First Book--Picture Book" Category and also received favorable reviews from the Jewish Book Council and Kirkus Reviews, among others. She is a current reader for the Baltimore Review. You can view her P&W (“Poets & Writers”) Directory page, here, as well.

She encourages all writers to follow their own wonderful and expansive paths and hopes that others will discover their own writing journeys, as a result.

When not writing, Bracha loves to muse over her memories of ballet, and all of the happy times that were spent with her cute little guinea pigs, Norah and (the most precious and late, great, recently-inducted Rainbow Bridge traveler) Kitty Lou (both named after literary characters). She also loves to read almost anything that comes her way and to spend time in the garden with a mug of tea and a square of chocolate. You can continue to follow her journey here, and to see some of her latest updates on writing and the world at large!

 
 

Here is a list of some of my favorite books. Maybe you will find some of your own favorites reflected in this list—or perhaps you will discover some new favorites to love! Keep looking back here, too, as the list will hopefully continue to be updated with old favorites, as well as new ones!

Children’s Picture Books
& CHILDREN'S EARLY-GRADE READERS

  • The Flower Faerie
    Frank Asch and Vladimir Vagin

  • Florence: Playing with Art
    Maria S. De Salvia Baldini

  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
    Judi and Ronald Barrett

  • The Berenstein Bears series
    Stan and Jan Berenstein

  • A Children’s Book of Verse
    Published by Brimax Books and illustrated by Eric Kincaid

  • L'Chaim: The Story of a Russian Emigre Boy
    Tricia Brown with photographs by Kenneth Kobre

  • Babar's Picnic
    Laurent de Brunhoff (A book in the Random House PICTUREBACK READER series)

  • Eric Carl's books

  • The Carp in the Bathtub
    Barbara Cohen

  • Molly’s Pilgrim
    Barbara Cohen

  • The Empty Pot
    Demi

  • Tomie dePaola's books

  • Hilary and the Lions
    Frank Desaix and Deborah Durland Desaix

  • Songs from Dreamland
    Lois Duncan and illustrated by Kay Chorao

  • The Story of Hanukkah
    Retold by Amy Ehrlich

  • Corduroy
    Don Freeman

  • Cakes and Miracles
    Barbara Diamond Goldin

  • The Magician’s Visit
    Barbara Diamond Goldin

  • Earth, Fire, Water, Air
    Mary Hoffman and Jane Ray

  • Eric Kimmel's books

  • I Love Guinea Pigs
    Dick King-Smith

  • Sam’s Cookie
    Barbro Lindgren

  • Any Bear Can Wear Glasses
    Matthew and Thomas Long and illustrated by Sylvia Long

  • Black and White
    David Macaulay

  • Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story
    Fran Manushkin

  • The Matzah That Papa Brought Home
    Fran Manushkin

  • Stone Soup
    Ann McGovern’s version and Others

  • Six-Dinner Sid
    Inga Moore

  • Tom and Pippo Go Shopping
    Helen Oxenbury

  • The Big Orange Splot
    Daniel Pinkwater

  • The Little Engine That Could
    Watty Piper

  • Beatrix Potter's books

  • Richard Scarry's books

  • The Treasure
    Uri Shulevitz

  • The True Story of the 3 (Three) Little Pigs
    Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

  • Ten Best Jewish Children's Stories
    Retold by Daniel and Chana Sperber and with an Introduction by Peninnah Schram

  • The Story of Jumping Mouse
    Retold and Illustrated by John Steptoe

  • The Quiet Book
    Deborah Underwood

  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
    Judith Viorst

  • Owl Babies
    Martin Waddell

  • The K’tonton Series
    Sadie Rose Weilerstein

  • What Danny Did: Stories for the Wee Jewish Child (and Weilerstein’s other books, too!)
    Sadie Rose Weilerstein

  • June 29, 1999
    David Weisner

  • The Patchwork Lady
    Mary K. Whittington

  • Matzoh Mouse
    Lauren L. Wohl

Children's Middle-Grade and Teen/YA books

  • Laurie Halse Anderson’s books
    (Particularly Speak, Fever 1793 and Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving) 

  • Avi's books
    (Particularly The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Perloo the Bold, Midnight Magic and The Secret School)

  • The Gemma Doyle Trilogy
    Libba Bray

  • Karen Cushman's books

  • The Dear America Series books

  • School of Wizardry (The Circle of Magic Series)
    Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald

  • The D.K. Eyewitness Series books

  • What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
    Jean Fritz

  • Margaret Peterson Haddix’s books

  • Karen Hesse's books

  • The Moorchild
    Eloise McGraw

  • The Silver Crown
    Robert C. O'Brien

  • Isaac Bashevis Singer's books
    (Particularly Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories and A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw)

  • Lemony Snicket’s books
    (Particularly the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” series, which is published under Daniel Handler's pen-name, Lemony Snicket)

  • Jerry Spinelli’s books

  • Not So Grimm: Jewish Fairy Tales
    Gila Weinberg