Joel Ben Izzy

The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness is an altogether original true story about a storyteller who loses his voice and believes he's lost everything. An encounter with his old teacher shows him that, in fact, he's been given a great gift. Their meetings lead him on a journey into the timeless wisdom of ancient tales - a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses and buried treasures - and, ultimately, toward the secret of happiness.

At last a great American Hanukkah story! This very funny, very touching novel of growing up Jewish has the makings of a holiday classic.One lousy miracle. Is that too much to ask?Evidently so for Joel, as he tries to survive Hannukah, 1971 in the suburbs of the suburbs of Los Angeles (or, as he calls it, “The Land of Shriveled Dreams”). That’s no small task when you’re a “seriously funny-looking” twelve-year-old magician who dreams of being his own superhero: Normalman. And Joel’s a long way from that as the only Jew at Bixby School, where his attempts to make himself disappear fail spectacularly. Home is no better, with a family that’s not just mortifyingly embarrassing but flat-out broke. That’s why Joel’s betting everything on these eight nights, to see whether it’s worth believing in God or miracles or anything at all. Armed with his favorite jokes, some choice Yiddish words, and a suitcase full of magic tricks, he’s scrambling to come to terms with the world he lives in—from hospitals to Houdini to the Holocaust—before the last of the candles burns out.No wonder his head is spinning: He’s got dreidels on the brain. And little does he know that what’s actually about to happen to him and his family this Hanukkah will be worse than he’d feared . . . And better than he could have imagined.

Welcome to Story Party: The Complete Collection, a curated collection of some of the very best storytelling for kids. With live performances from the most imaginative storytellers around the country, children will feel like they’re a part of the audience as they listen, sing and clap along. This Complete Collection is filled with hours of great stories, tons of wonderful performers, and enough twists and turns for a long drive with the whole family, perhaps through the woods to Grandmother’s house--or maybe just a short trip (with a dose of unexpected gridlock) over to the soccer game.Story Party: The Complete Collection provides over eight hours of tales that entertain, educate and inspire imagination, so that you won’t have to worry about the audiobook coming to an end before you get the car in gear.Each chapter has a unique theme such as: Animal Adventures, Water Water Everywhere, and Folktales. There’s even a special live event with all stories and songs performed on stage! Older kids and even adults will have fun listening too!

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy tells tales of beggars, bakers and babies in this collection of international folktales, which was chosen as a Parents Choice Gold Award winner and received NAPPA honors. The stories are woven together with Joel's original stories and music from around the world. The title story is a classic, recounting the meeting of King Solomon with Ashmodai, king of the demons, "a tall, blue skinned demon, with the feet of a chicken, the wings of an eagle, the head of a lizard and the personality of a jack-ass." Solomon begs Ashmodai to teach him the secret of illusion, which Ashmodai agrees to do on one condition - that Solomon remove his ring, a simple gold ring that has protected him all his life. As he does, Ashmodai hurls it to one end of the earth, and Solomon to the other. And so begins the story of Solomon's wanderings. Here are the stories you'll hear: The King's Riddles - Ireland Stories of the Fools of Chelm - Poland & California Be Polite and The Pickpocket - China & England The Beggar King and The Field of Two Brothers - tales from the old city of Jerusalem - Israel Great stories for kids and adults, ideal for carpools and long trips, this CD makes a great gift.

In this CD, award-winning travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy recounts eight tales for the festival of light with his trademark warmth and humor. You'll hear his wild rendition of the story of Hanukkah, the story of Luck vs. Wisdom and tales of Hanukkah in Chelm, the mythical Jewish village of fools. The stories on this CD, recorded before a live audience, are woven together with music by The Kings of Klezmer, playing Klezmer versions of classical Hanukkah tunes. Because Joel tells all about the holiday, these stories are accessible to all, young or old, Jewish or not. These are stories you'll be listening to and retelling, long after the candles burn down.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy takes us on a journey from the marketplace in Tel Aviv to the subways of Tokyo, with side trips to a village in China, a bath house in Turkey and Chelm, the mythical Jewish town of fools. This recording, which received the ALA Notable Recording Award and a Parents' Choice Gold Award, has just been released on CD. It includes the following King Solomon and the Smell of the Bread A Tale from Jerusalem and Tokyo Stories of Nasrudin, the Trickster A Tale of Curses, Blessings & Bee Stings Stories of the Fools of Chelm The Old King and His DaughtersThe music of a Klezmer clarinet weaves the tales together, making for a performance your family will love.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy recounts an international mix of creepy tales that will take you from a taxi in Hong Kong to a graveyard in Israel, from the frozen Yukon to the suburbs of Los Angeles. You'll end up in a cave in the hills outside of Rome where Joel found the title story - or rather, it found him. As he recounts it you'll hear the bizarre tale of Joel's first job as a storyteller, which was very nearly his last. You'll hear the Creepy Car Tales (from California, Hawaii & Hong Kong)How I Got Bill the Chicken (California)The Cremation of Sam McGee (Canada)King Solomon & Death/The Graveyard in Safed (Israel)The Green Hand (Italy) This collection of stories, all told with music to match, is as funny as it is scary. It received an Award of Excellence from the Film Advisory Board.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy recounts some of the tales closest to his heart in this voyage of laughter and tears that will take you around the world and back again. Starting with the title story, based on a Polish folktale, ben Izzy weaves together stories with memories of his father. Among the tales are some hilarious stories of Hershel of Ostropol and a wild Hatian story about the king of the elephants. You'll hear the My Father and Hershel of Ostropol (California & The Ukraine)Buried Treasures (Poland & Czechoslovakia)The Road Back Home (Spain & Haiti)One Last Hershel Tale (The Ukraine) This tape was chosen as an Editor's Choice by Booklist Magazine.

"Wonderful!” (Grace Paley). “Heartwarming and smart and wonderfully written” (Detroit Free Press). “Provides edifying advice, intimately given, like the best-selling Tuesdays with Morrie” (the Dallas Morning News). “Altogether original” (Dr. Laura Schlessinger). “This story will speak to the humanity of the reader” (Jewish Book World). The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness is that rare, magical book—a book that tells a good story but also shows us how the tales we learned when we were children shed light on our adult lives. Joel ben Izzy had the unusual opportunity to relive those lessons when he lost his voice and reconnected with his old teacher, Lenny, a retired storyteller. Through his meetings with Lenny, Joel rediscovers the wisdom of ancient tales and takes us on a journey into a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses and buried treasures—and in the end tells us the secret of happiness.

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy takes us for a wild ride in this collection of tales about his liver lovin' days, train hopping hobos, moose turd pie and more. As with Joel ben Izzy's other award winning CDs and tapes, this one is a mix of classic tales along with his own adaptations. The title story tells of his disgust when he found, as a kid, that he would have to eat liver (yuck!), and how he went from there to liking liver, loving it in fact, finally leading to an obsession with liver that led him to his life of crime... You'll also hear the famous watermelon stories as well as the tale of Paula Bunyan. (That was her real name.) The bouncy carnival story fits these stories perfectly, making this tape one that you, your family and friends will listen to again and again - and that's the truth! This recording received Parents' Choice Honors.

When a storyteller loses his voice, he believes he's lost everything. In fact, he's been given a great gift. Once upon a time, a successful storyteller lost his voice to throat cancer. Deprived of the instrument of his art and his livelihood, he retreated into dark, sullen silence and depression. While searching for a spiritual explanation, he encountered his former mentor, a cantankerous and often drunk old man. Their meetings began a journey into the timeless wisdom of ancient tales: of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, lost horses, buried treasures, and ultimately the secret of happiness. In this altogether original book, Joel ben Izzy shares his personal account of surviving loss, gaining wisdom, and rediscovering one's true purpose. Weaving in tales he's collected over the years from Sufi, Muslim, Chinese, Jewish, Iraqi, Zen Buddhist, Italian, and Indian cultures, he passes along the lessons he has learned. As we travel with Izzy from tragedy back into light and sound, we are encouraged to see our own lives as stories, and to open our own hearts to happiness.

The Beggar King And the Secret of Happiness{Paperback,2005}