A Baltimore County first grade teacher for most of her adult life, Jennifer Littman not only loved teaching her students but also thrived on the creative aspects of the educational process. She encouraged her first graders to discover and to explore their individual talents. Littman's students always decorated the walls and tables throughout the school with their beautiful projects.
In 1996, Littman took time off from teaching to write and paint. The result was her first book, "Matzo Ball Soup. "Her husband, Steve, and their three children's love for soup became the inspiration for her book. Happy, sad, sick, or well ... the family begged for matzo ball soup. A pot was always bubbling on the stove with juicy matzo balls bobbing up and down. Most Jewish families connect matzo ball soup with Passover, but Littman linked the making of matzo ball soup with the Jewish holiday of Shabbat and the weekly gathering of family.
Before Littman knew it, she was back teaching first graders and raising, of all things, mice! Actually, the Littman household was filled with an assortment of dogs, cats, turtles, lizards, and fish. One day her daughter begged for two mice. Well, two mice did not stay two mice for long because they had lots of babies. The mice even made it into first grade. The students loved the mice. It was the mice experience that led to Littman's next book, "Marvelous Mitzvot Mice." In this whimsical book, Littman's mice teach the importance of community service.
Jennifer Littman's children are now grown. She and her husband and four rescue dogs split their time between Baltimore, Maryland and Bozeman, Montana. You can still find her painting and writing. She also enjoys playing the piano, gardening, dancing, and hiking.
