an interview on Radio Curious with Barry Vogel

Happy Holidays — Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Diwali, Solstice, New Year’s, Yuletide, Whatever you celebrate!

Here’s a video of the song, and here’s a link to the lyric sheet. Please feel free to print it out and sing it all year long.

The Holiday Video

BUY IT TODAY!

CD Available through CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/markbinder9

is an ebook (2011), paperback (2008) hardback (2007 out of print) and a CD (2005).

The softcover - and Kindle edition available on Amazon.com

or for the iPad

The Book (softcover and ebook editions)

Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award for Family Literature!

“A collection of short stories, all set in Chelm, the village of fools, take place around the holiday of Hanukah. We meet several interesting villagers, including Mrs. Chaipul (who is wise but makes inferior potato latkes), Rabbi Kibbitz, and Little Doodle (the village orphan), who is the hero of the most outstanding story entitled, “Out of the Woods.” It is longer and has a more cohesive plot than do the other tales. In this thirty-five page story, the Cossacks ride into Chelm in order to procure (i.e. steal) food an provisions while the Chelmites flee and hide out in the forest. The book is followed by a glossary and notes. In this anthology, the reader is introduced to many silly Chelmites and also the life of Jews in Eastern Europe at an earlier time in history. By and large the stories are light in tone and content, and all of them have been previously published in magazines such as Cricket, Jewish Daily Forward, Washington Jewish Week, and others. According to a note by the author his book is based on a CD from his storytelling tour.
– Jewish Book World, Summer 2008 (Volume 26, Number 2)

AJL Newsletter review…

A Hanukkah Present is a compilation of original short stories about Hanukkah, a collection that pays homage to classic Judaic storytellers. Binder has created characters and plots that read like authentic Jewish tales that have been passed down from generation to generation. Parents and grandparents will enjoy reading selections aloud and retelling the stories with or without the original text.

One of the best in this colorful collection, “The Challah That Ate Chelm”, about a baker’s apprentice named Muddle, is witty and charming. Muddle is the proverbial good hearted ne’er-do-well whose enormous challah destroys the baker’s oven, and nearly the entire town. Despite the damage, there is no retribution. Instead the town takes up a collection for poor Muddle to find himself a new business.

There are several stories that focus on a “Chanukah Bush” in the home of a rabbi. While the explanations are clever, this storyline might not be appropriate in more traditional homes where the notion of a Chanukah bush is not pleasing.

A Hanukkah Present is a fine example of Jewish tradition with a wink. It offers the young generation a peek into the past, with humor and a bit of schmaltz. For parents, teachers, and librarians who enjoyed The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories from Chelm by Eric Kimmel, A Hanukkah Present would be a nice alternative selection. A Hanukkah Present is appropriate for any Judaic collection.
– Barbara Bietz, Oak Park, CA in the Feb/March 2008 issue of the AJL Newsletter

The CD is a Storytelling World Honor Winner.

The CD has received the following reviews and mentions:

“Lethal Latkes,” by the way, is not a murder mystery. It concerns some awful-tasting latkes (potato pancakes) and what you might call another Hanukkah miracle: love.”
– New York Times

“Listeners of all cultural backgrounds will be entertained by these tales.”
– School Library Journal

“An entertaining CD that, like its title, will make a great Hanukkah present for Jewish children and their families.”
– AJL Newsletter

Many of the stories in A Chanukah Present are stories within a story: A Cold Day in Chelm. Everything freezes. It’s so cold, people initially won’t get out of bed or leave the house. Then the community finds warmth in each other.

“The villagers come together,” Binder says. “The warmth of their singing warms the whole world.” Binder says he likes stories that appeal to all ages and faiths, and “have a good heart.”
–Providence Journal – Read the whole review

A review of a recent presentation by Mark Binder of  “Stories for Peace”to the families at Central Congregational Church in Providence, RI.

“It was intergenerational. Folks from 3 to 83 enjoyed it… Mark’s presentation was incredibly relevant to our group. It’s really jumpstarted some conversations among our folks about peace and nonviolence and bullying…”

—Rev. Kat Townes, Central Congregational Church. WATCH THE VIDEO…

Stories for Peace

Stories for Peace is available through Amazon.com, for the Kindle, iPad and iPhone and for the Nook.

For information about booking Mark Binder for your organization, please click here.

Chiri Bim - from Mark Binder’s new book, “Stories for Peace”
This was recorded on an iphone at the Peace Flag Project’s Voices for Peace Concert at the Roots Cafe in Providence, RI

First Day of Spring: “This is the last day I can eat if I want to fit into my summer bathing suit.”

First day of Summer:  “Can’t fit into my summer bathing suit today… might as well have an ice cream.”

First day of Autumn:  “I just burned the bathing suit, let’s get sundaes!”

First Day of Winter:  “It’s getting cold. I’d better build up a layer of fat.”

You can eat anything and everything you want,
if your doctor’s name is Kevorkian.

Imagine new ways to resolve conflict!

Stories for Peace is a fun and quick read that will open new possibilities to handling difficult and uncomfortable problems. Using an entertaining and action-provoking style, the book raises issues and offers answers. For adults, children, families, educators, students, activists, leaders, and listeners.

“Everyone agrees that the world needs peace.… It is also true that the world needs stories. Mark Binder brings these two needs together and in a short time, children and adults will be amazed how they will learn together, laugh together, dream together, and be inspired to continuing creating peace in the world. What a wonderful gift for any community to continue this work that began at the beginning of time and is made real for us in these stories.”
— Rev. T. Michael Rock, Pastor/Activist/Nonviolence Trainer

“Mark Binder’s stories carry insight and bite. I have seen him charm young and old alike.”
— Rabbi James Rosenberg

Who is Mark Binder?

A former candidate for US Congress, Mark Binder is an author storyteller and a student and teacher of martial arts. An award-winning book and recording artist, he travels the world, sharing his work at festivals, theaters, schools, libraries, churches, synagogues and other community centers. He holds a third-degree black belt in Aikido, the martial art for peace. He promises not to throw anyone across the room.

Title: Stories for Peace
Subtitle: resolving conflicts / handling bullies
Author: Mark Binder

Expected publication date: September 16, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-9824707-4-9

Number of pages: 116
Price: $14.95
Trim size 5.5×8.5 Perfect Bound (softcover)

Ebook Price $9.95

Publisher: Light Publications
Distributors: Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Amazon.com
eBook Available on iPad, Kindle, Nook

Retail Availability: Local bookstores, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders

Photos and Samples http://www.lightpublications.com/media

For Immediate Release. Contact Stephen@lightpublications.com (401) 484-0228

Stories for Peace

Resolving conflicts / handling bullies
by Mark Binder

“The difference between violence and peace is often the story that is told from the beginning of the conflict to the end and beyond…”

Light Publications is pleased to announce the release of STORIES FOR PEACE by Mark Binder, the award-winning author and storyteller, who once ran for the United States Congress, and escaped victory by fewer than 10,000 votes.

STORIES FOR PEACE is a fun and quick read that will open new possibilities to handling difficult and uncomfortable problems. Using an entertaining and action-provoking style, the book raises issues and offers answers.

STORIES FOR PEACE looks at the causes of violence, and the choices people have in responding to it. It is a collection of eleven tales, two essays and a timely section on cyberbullying. Some stories are serious, some are quite funny and others are poignant.

Pieces include:

• Divide and Conquer: A story about how a single soldier and the first Dalai Lama stopped the Mongol Horde from conquering Tibet.
• The Olive Orchard: A woman is hurried from her house by an armed soldier, but stops along the way to plant a seed.
• The Bully and the Shrimp: How can a small boy stop a bully?

The book is designed to be read on different levels. For young people, the stories will be fun and engaging. For older children, the stories and essays will raise questions and offer possibilities. Adults will find a variety of ways to use and enjoy this book as readers, teachers and practitioners of peace.