Book Review
With A Needle And Thread by Jennifer Stempel
32 pages │ Kalaniot Books │ October 2025
A Folktale Rooted in Heritage and Heart
NEW YORK – From Cuba’s Jewish community comes a story as luminous as it is timeless. With a Needle and Thread: A Jewish Folktale from Cuba by Jennifer Stempel, available in both English and Spanish, invites readers to experience the warmth, ingenuity, and creativity of Jewish life in Santiago de Cuba.
Romi lives with her abuelita in a small, close-knit Jewish community. They don’t have much, but as her grandmother says, with imagination and lo que sea, whatever you have, you can make miracles. Together, they transform one outgrown dress into a blanket, a prayer shawl, and finally a wedding canopy, weaving love and tradition into every stitch.
A Rich Cultural Tapestry
Stempel, a Cuban-Jewish writer and storyteller, draws deeply from her family roots and travels to Cuba. The result is a beautifully authentic portrait of Jewish rituals, a bris, bar mitzvah, and chuppah, woven together with Cuban flavor, rhythm, and resilience.
This is not just a children’s story; it’s a celebration of identity, adaptability, and faith that transcends generations. Spanish words like lo que sea flow naturally through the text, reflecting the musicality of Cuban speech and the universality of making do with what one has.
Art that Feels Handmade
Illustrator Libi Axelrod matches the text’s soul with her tender, watercolor-inspired visuals. Every brushstroke feels handcrafted, from the pastel streets of Santiago to the flowing fabric that anchors the story’s journey. Her art radiates warmth and cultural detail, giving readers the sense of touching something both real and sacred.
Themes of Creativity, Sustainability, and Love
At its heart, With a Needle and Thread is about transformation, how something ordinary can become extraordinary through care, imagination, and community. It’s a story that resonates across cultures and generations, reminding readers that heritage isn’t just preserved, it’s reimagined and renewed.
Perfect for family reading, multicultural education, and intergenerational collections, the book encourages reflection on sustainability, storytelling, and the shared threads of human experience.
About the Author
Jennifer Stempel, inspired by her Cuban-Jewish heritage, has built a multifaceted career in storytelling, from Hollywood screenwriting to her acclaimed food blog, TheCubanReuben.com. Now based in St. Louis, she continues to celebrate culture through teaching, cooking, and writing.
Stempel is available for author visits and workshops focused on creativity, heritage, and the Jewish-Latinx experience.
A Tale That Endures
In the end, the story of Romi and her abuelita is more than a folktale; it’s a meditation on how love and faith can turn scarcity into abundance, and how one small piece of fabric can hold an entire community together.
With a Needle and Thread: A Jewish Folktale from Cuba is now available from Kalaniot Books.