"A Most Gentle Golem for a New Generation"– a review in Judith Magazine

Many thanks to Erica Lyons for her wonderful review of Kai and the Golem in Judith Magazine:

"Kai and the Golem, by Carol Matas, is a golem tale like you’ve never heard before. Matas weaves Jewish folklore, tradition, and adventure into a story that captivates young readers. Elisa Vavouri’s lively illustrations perfectly pair with this sweet multi-generational story.

Rich in imagination and grounded in Jewish tradition, Kai and the Golem teaches young readers the Jewish mitzvah of visiting the sick. The narrative also suggests ways to manage disappointment and strong emotions.

Kai is a thoroughly relatable protagonist whose hopes and frustrations will resonate with children. By the final page, readers are sure to be eager for Kai's next adventure with his extraordinary golem companion." ... click here for the the full article, including book illustrations and author bio

Something Special

I have a very special cover reveal! A book that is very dear to me has been picked up by PJ Our Way and will be sent out to readers in June. 

Why so special? It was originally published by my oldest friend in the world, Morri Mostow, by her independent press, Fictive Press, when traditional publishers passed on it. We were delighted when it was shortlisted for the National Jewish Book Awards – the first time any of my books had made that short list despite the many honours many of them had received. 

Sadly, Fictive Press closed a few years ago. However, a short time ago, PJ Library got in touch to say they would like to publish it.

Set in 1882 Arizona, Tuscon Jo features the spunky character, Josephine, a young woman unafraid to push the boundaries. When her father runs for mayor and wants her to behave like a perfect young lady, she would rather ride horses and defy her father by wearing trousers. In the process, she questions what freedom means. Does one person's freedom mean another person loses theirs? Can freedom mean equality? And does being Jewish mean you have less freedom than others? A rollicking Western ride with lots of fun and some tough questions thrown in. Tuscon Jo is also an excellent book for teaching civics in today's complex world. 

Pancouver article calls A Storm Unleashed a gripping novel

Thank you to Charlie Smith at Pancouver for such a thoughtful article about my latest Holocaust novel for middle grades, A Storm Unleashed, and my new picture book, Kai and the Golem, in advance of my appearance at the 41st annual Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival that runs from February 21 to 26, 2026: 

In A Storm Unleashed, Winnipeg writer Carol Matas wanted to show how dehumanizing language can portend calamitous events. The gripping novel revolves around a 12-year-old girl named Mia living in Berlin from 1933 to 1935. Her father is a Jewish veterinarian and her non-Jewish mother died shortly after Mia was born.

“I felt like I wanted to explore fascism and describe it to young people, almost like an immunization,” Matas tells Pancouver over Zoom from her home in Manitoba. 

“If you can get young people to think about what it means to live in a dictatorship or an autocracy, then maybe they won’t be so keen to go there,” she continues. “Maybe they will also, as they grow older, see the signs when they are developing.”

The novel also addresses antisemitism, a topic that Matas has written about in many other books. In A Storm Unleashed, she writes about how teachers and others in Nazi Germany became so swept up by Hitler’s rhetoric and lies that they embraced these ideas as their own, stigmatizing Jewish children like Mia. 

[Kai and the Golem] features illustrations by Elisa Vavouri and is about a child who thinks an entity is wrecking his day for no good reason. Kai eventually befriends this entity, names him Pete, and is better able to cope as a result.

Read the full article. 

Touched by this wonderful review of A Storm Unleashed from the Sydney Taylor Schmooze

"Carol Matas has given a wonderful gift to middle grade readers and anyone else who is interested in the history of Germany leading up to the Holocaust. Her book, The Storm Unleashed, shows how one man with a small group of followers can gather momentum and create a community of hate toward another group of the society...The reader will be on the edge of their seat, concerned about Mia and her family and their safety. This is an enthralling and all-consuming novel that exposes how a dictator can come to power."

Read the whole review.

Launch of Kai and the Golem!

On December 2, I launched Kai and the Golem at the Gray Academy of Jewish Education, sponsored by the Kaufman Silverberg Library. Librarian Morah Ana, (who is a star!) arranged the entire event and will be following up with the children afterwards. We had a packed house of students from grades 1 to 3. They seemed to have a lot of fun. There were lots of questions and many hands up at all times! 

AJL gives Kai and the Golem a great review!

Thank you to Mimi Leyton for her wonderful review of Kai and the Golem in the Fall 2025 issue of AJL News and Reviews from the Association  of Jewish Libraries: 

 "...offering a tender and hopeful conclusion...The minimal text per page makes the book highly accessible for early readers and well-suited to shared reading. It encourages discussions about emotions, resilience, and how imagination can help reframe difficult experiences."

"Doing Good Deeds Dissipates Personal Feelings of Gloom" says San Diego Jewish World

Thank you to Donald Harrison of the San Diego Jewish World for this wonderful review.

Donald Harrison understands what I was trying to do in Kai in the Golem:

"There’s a bright side to life depending on your perspective. It’s a mitzvah to cheer up hospitalized patients. Helping others can brighten your outlook on the world, dispelling your personal gloom."

A Storm Unleashed included in new Manitoba Holocaust curriculum

Back (left to right): Mike Moroz, Tracy Schmidt, Kelly Hiebert,
Belle Jarniewski  Front: Carla Compton, Carol Matas

What an honour! The Manitoaba Minister of Education and Childhood Learning, Tracy Schmidt, chose to announce the new mandatory Holocaust curriculum at the launch of A Storm Unleashed on November 10. A Storm Unleashed is a recommended resource for grade 6! Also there to support the announcement and the book launch were Mike Moroz, Minister of Innovation and New Technology, and Carla Compton, MLA for Tuxedo.

Tracy Schmidt announcing
the new Holocaust curriculum

Belle Jarniewski, Executive Director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, and Kelly Hiebert, teacher and Holocaust scholar, discussed the book with me and participated in a lively discussion.

Many thanks to the Jewish Heritage Centre, which sponsored and organized the launch. The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and Scholastic Canada were also sponsors. And to friends, family, teachers, attendees, thank you for coming! What a great turnout! And a special thanks to my nine-year-old granddaughter who assisted me in the book signing!

November 4 is pub day for Kai and the Golem

Today is publication date for Kai and the Golem. Can't think of a better way to celebrate than to share this "Q&A" with Deborah Kalb on her Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb. 

First Review in for A Storm Unleashed

 Delighted to see A Storm Unleashed as a November Children's Book Pick in the Calgary Herald. 

"This historical fiction of bravery in the times of Nazi terror is an important read."

PJ Library will distribute Zevi Takes the Spotlight in December 2025

PJ Library will be distributing Zevi Takes the Spotlight to thousands of homes in December! Here's the cover of the PJ Library edition.

And here is the badge I earned for winning the Harold Grinspoon Jewish Story Award. It's an award given to authors for a book they have written — in this case, Zevi Takes the Spotlight — in the hopes they will continue to write Jewish-themed books. 

Jewish Book Council gives Kai and the Golem a wonderful review!

Absolutely over the moon with this review. Firstly, it is a well written review — too few of those! Secondly, the reviewer understood exactly what I was trying to achieve with the book. And the best compliment ever: "Children will recognize themselves in Kai."

"Chil­dren will rec­og­nize them­selves in Kai. Their emo­tions may be over­whelm­ing, but cir­cum­stances can be improved by help­ing oth­ers and by look­ing at events in a more pos­i­tive light. The sweet col­or illus­tra­tions, includ­ing that of the fur­ry, orange golem, enhance the sto­ry and the char­ac­ters."   Read the full review

Available for pre-order. 

Kai and the Golem gets unpacked!

Kai and the Golem has arrived! Was just thrilled to open the box and hold the book in my hands for the first time.  Available for preorder. Kar Ben publishers. Illustrations by Elisa Vavouri. 

     

First presentation of A Storm Unleashed

I was thrilled to present A Storm Unleashed to teachers at the Manitoba Social Sciences Association Conference on October 24. We had two sold out sessions. I was so fortunate to do the sessions with Kelly Hiebert, a Holocaust education scholar. Here I am preparing for the session. And here we are right after the sessions were over. Lots of great questions. Many attendees had already read the book and told me they loved it.  

I am looking forward to the book launch of  A Storm Unleashed on November 10. Belle Jarniewski, director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, and Kelly Hiebert, Holocaust scholar and history teacher, will be joining me in a discussion of my middle-grades novel.

Launch of A Storm Unleashed

I am honoured to be part of a Kristallnacht program sponsored by The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada and The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. Belle Jarniewski, director of the JHC, and Kelly Hiebert, Holocaust Curriculum Scholar and history teacher, will be joining me in a discussion of my novel A Storm Unleashed.

After losing her mother as a young girl, twelve-year-old Mia is living in Berlin with her veterinarian father and beloved German shepherd, Max. Mia tries to focus on her hobbies, her studies and her trips to her grandparents’ farm where she cares for the animals she loves. But it’s 1935, and life has changed radically for Mia and her Jewish father over the last two years. Antisemitism is now official state policy. At school, Mia is vilified and treated cruelly by her teachers and fellow students. Outside of school, she witnesses violence against her friends and family. And then suddenly a girl from the Nazi Youth tries to take Max. From that moment on, life becomes more and more dangerous for Mia and her father — who is now being forced to help the Nazis train Hitler’s army of dogs. Mia and her best friend, Frieda, must come up with a plan to navigate this new reality. But could it cost Mia more than she realizes? 

Praise for A Storm Unleashed

Available now at Indigo and McNally Robinson Booksellers

"A Storm Unleashed is an important book for our time. Mia is a 12-year-old girl in Berlin in 1935. She and her dog Max have grown up surrounded by love. But with Hitler’s rise to power, all she sees, and feels, now is hate. And when a member of the Hitler Youth threatens to take Max away, Mia realizes that the country she once knew and felt safe in is changing.

In this book, Carol Matas brilliantly sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of Hitler’s power – his army of 200,000 dogs. Matas centres the story on Mia’s lived experience - her love for her dog Max, her caring relationship with her Jewish veterinarian father, as well as with her non-Jewish grandparents and aunt on her mother’s side. When Mia can no longer ignore the antisemitism she’s experiencing in school, she realizes she has to pay attention to what’s going on in her country and to the people (and dog) she loves.

A Storm Unleashed not only tells a moving and accessible story leading up to World War II and the Holocaust, but shows young readers the importance of being engaged during turbulent times, while also leaning into hope and love." — Sidura Ludwig, author of  Rising

"Gripping, revealing, heart-pounding and hopeful, this meticulously researched novel breaks new ground and is an outstanding addition to Holocaust literature. This masterfully written novel should be utilized in classrooms everywhere." — Liza Wiemer, Sydney Taylor Notable Book Award-winning author of The Assignment

"A powerful story about tragedy, terror and survival. We can learn of a dark past to create a brighter future." — Eric Walters, author of King of Jam Sandwiches

"A Storm Unleashed is a powerful and, at times, raw and terrifying fictionalized, but no less harrowing, story of one girl’s account in Nazi Germany. Despite this book being set in 1935, during the rise of Hitler, so much of what Mia experiences could easily be written about today’s rise in disinformation, propaganda, and antisemitism: “It is an odd feeling knowing a large portion of the country believes things that are simply not true. I can’t help but wonder if I also believe things that aren’t true. If so, how would I know?” A relatable, if difficult read that will keep kids turning the page to find out what happens to Mia and her beloved dog, Max, while sneakily teaching them about history, democracy, a little philosophy, and what could come again if we aren’t careful." — Joanne Levy, author of All the Things We Found.

Book Birthday for A Storm Unleashed!

September 16 is pub day for A Storm Unleashed. Available for order at Indigo, which named it as one of Indigo's Most Anticipated Canadian Books. Also available at McNally Robinson Booksellers.

Twelve-year-old Mia lives in Berlin with her veterinarian father and beloved dog, Max. It's 1935, and life in Germany has changed radically — especially for Jewish families like Mia's. She tries to focus on things she loves: her best friend Frieda, training Max, birdwatching, and visiting her grandparents' farm ... but storm clouds are gathering.

Under Hitler's rule, antisemitism is now official state policy. Jewish people are quickly losing their rights and protection and are subject to random violence. Mia is vilified and treated cruelly by her teachers and fellow students. And a girl from the Nazi Youth has decided to take Max for herself. Meanwhile, Mia and father find themselves caught up in Hitler's plot to create an army of dogs.

Can Mia navigate this new reality and find a way to keep her loved ones safe? Even if she does, what will be the cost?

Kai and the Golem first review!

Kirkus has reviewed Kai and the Golem!

 "...the sense of repetition (in particular, Kai’s refrain “That’s not what I want!”) is soothing, and caregivers seeking a way to help little ones navigate the absence of a loved one will find guidance here...heartfelt..."

The book will be published on November 4th!

Kai's Bubbe is in hospital and nothing seems right with the world. Could a wrecker be behind all the bad things happening? A wrecker Kai decides to call Golem? Or can Kai find a way to make things better, Golem or no Golem? 

A Storm Unleashed has been sold To Australia!

 Kids in Australia and New Zealand will soon be reading A Storm Unleashed. 

This is the announcement made by my agent Amy Tompkins:

"Andrew Berkhut at Scholastic Australia has acquired Carol Matas's middle grade novel, A Storm Unleashed. Scholastic Australia's edition will be published in early 2026. Maral Maclagan at Scholastic Canada handled the deal for English rights in Australia and New Zealand. Carol Matas is represented by Amy Tompkins at Transatlantic Agency, who is representing translation rights."

Zevi Takes the Spotlight chosen by PJ Library to be a PJ Our Way Selection!

ZEVI TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT has been chosen by PJ Library as a PJ Our Way Selection.

And I have been honoured, too, and awarded the PJ Our Way Grinspoon Jewish Story Award! I am delighted that Zevi will be sent to Jewish families all over North America — for free! From The Harold Grinspoon Foundation. It's an incredible initiative that I am so proud to be part of.

Zevi is a Jewish teen who has one dream — to become an actor. But he has an unwanted talent. He's psychic! And being psychic keeps getting in the way of his acting career. This is especially true since the famous Jewish actor Robert Lemon has come to Vancouver to film a new movie — part of it in Zevi's house! But when "accidents" start to happen, Zevi and his best friend Nir must save Robert Lemon from a murderer.