A Time for Bells

“Things are different here, Samuel,” his grandfather told him. “Here we can be Jewish without being afraid. We say what we wish. Silence was for Portugal. In America, we speak!” In the 1770s, twelve-year-old Samuel Molena must straddle two worlds. Life in the Georgia colony is rife with disease, trouble with Indians, and fear of anti-Semitism. The British Crown controls the American colonies with harsh taxes and demands for total loyalty to the king. Samuel’s family is finally able to live openly as Jews — no longer forced to hide as they did in Portugal. But a new kind of silence is required. Together with his father, Samuel attends secret meetings of the Liberty Boys, where talk of revolution isn’t just a dream — it’s high treason. In A Time for Bells, award-winning author Tovah S. Yavin brings to life the thrilling, little-known history of Jewish life in colonial America and the mounting tension of the Revolutionary War. Join Samuel as he welcomes the ringing of liberty in his family’s new land.   Recommended reading level: Grades 5–6