This is a book about bupkes: nothing, zero, zilch. Sometimes, though, what looks like nothing turns out to be the most important thing of all. An empty garden seems like nothing―bupkes! But it means that Zoe and her mom have taken a big basket of fresh veggies to their neighbor. An empty bench at the playground seems like nothing—bupkes! But Zoe has made a new friend and now no one needs to sit on the bench. An empty soup bowl seems like nothing―bupkes! But Zoe takes chicken soup to her sick mom and, after eating it, her mom feels better. The funny thing is that bupkes may mean nothing, but it can feel like everything.
Leslie Kimmelman is the author of more than fifty children's picture books and early readers, both fiction and nonfiction, including Everybody Says Shalom, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3! A Story About Friendship and Autism, the book that first introduced Sesame Street's Julia. Leslie was a children's book editor for many years, including almost twenty-five years at Sesame Workshop. She lives in the New York City area. Please visit her at lesliekimmelman.com.