When solicitor Alison Green’s son was small and she would read stories to him, she was inspired to start writing her own children’s books. She has now received this year’s Jewish Children’s Book Award for her story Marv’s Luncheonette, which champions the importance of the Jewish community.
Green Bean Books and the Jewish Literary Foundation’s £1,000 award celebrates new, unpublished works for young children based on Jewish history, values or tradition.
“I was a runner up in 2025, so I was really excited to win this year,” says Alison, who has “loved” writing poetry and fiction since her own childhood. From London, Alison developed her creative talents at art college before becoming a lawyer.
“I've always been writing,” she says. “And instead, I did the Jewish thing and became a lawyer, so I'm always looking for creative outlets – I get a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment from it.”
Her first children’s book, The Very Best Beast, was published in 2022, and she has also recently finished writing a novel for adults and taken part in the emerging writers programme with the Jewish Literary Foundation.
In her new award-winning story that will now be considered for publication by Green Bean Books, restaurant owner Marv is having a “really bad day” at his luncheonette because his waitress and his chef have both called in with flu, and while he tries to do everything himself to serve all his regulars, the restaurant inspector turns up and ramps up the pressure.
Things deteriorate even more when everything starts to break in the kitchen, but then the restaurateur’s customers step in to help, and Marv ends up with a top score from the inspector.
The story is an allegory for the Jewish community, and the importance of supporting each other in times of crisis.
Alison says, “We all want to be part of a community – that's so important. I’m lucky to have a great local Jewish community at Brondesbury Park, and locally, we’ve really come together following October 7.”
She says that since the Hamas attacks of October 7, many Jews in the diaspora have felt “a sense of social isolation”.
“Community has felt more important than ever. I love that despite our different backgrounds and levels of observation, as Jews we share an understanding and connection.
“Marv’s Luncheonette is all about the importance of connection – the idea that we are so much stronger as a community than as a group of individuals.”
Alison hopes that in addition to the theme of community, the story will teach her young readers the value of resilience, and how we can help others.
“Marv is working really hard. He wants to do a good job, even though everything's gone wrong. He's got resilience. That's a really good thing for kids to learn. Secondly, when things go wrong, other people step up without being asked. That's a really great thing to show and they're rewarded – everyone gets a free pudding – and meanwhile, they have become a community.”
Although Alison herself is Ashkenazi, she has included traditional dishes representing the different communities for diversity, such as bourekas, baklava and shakshuka from Sephardi and Mizrachi cuisine, as well as Ashkenazi dishes.
“Food is a very accessible way for kids to begin to explore diversity in the Jewish community,” she says. “It's something that children can really relate to.”
She is keen that children and their parents will enjoy Marv as much as she enjoyed reading the “brilliant” and “hilarious” stories of Peter Bently, and the “funny” and “clever” tales of Dr Seuss.
“I hope kids will find it funny and fun. When I started writing children's books, I was mindful of the fact that, while the priority is that the child enjoys it, it's important the parent enjoys it too – because anyone who's had small kids knows you're going to read that book 100 times.”
The Jewish Children’s Book Awards were established in 2021 to discover and inspire new writers and illustrators and to encourage more innovative Jewish literature for young readers. On this year’s judging panel were Green Bean Books publisher Michael Leventhal, author and illustrator Omer Hoffman, author and director of acquisitions at PJ Library Chris Barash, Jewish Renaissance magazine editor Rebecca Taylor and curator of illustrated children’s books at the Israel Museum, Orna Granot.
Leventhal said: “The rhyme of Alison’s story propels you through Marv’s increasingly chaotic day with a mixture of fun, cheerfulness and camaraderie. We’re practically cheering when Marv’s clients come to his rescue.”
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