Available now!

Book 3 in the YaYa & YoYo series (For ages 8 and up)

If weddings are supposed to be perfect and magical, then breaking an arm right before the big day would definitely not be part of the plan, right? 

Ellie Silver (YaYa) doesn’t think she believes in superstition yet it seems like lately everywhere she goes and everything she touches brings bad luck. She thinks she may have even upset something called the “Ayin Hara,” also known as “The Evil Eye.” Ellie has been counting down the minutes until she, her twin brother Joel (YoYo) and older brother Jeremy would be in their favorite aunt’s wedding. But with all the unfortunate events leading up to the wedding, Ellie wonders if it will just be one gigantic disaster. And how much of that will be her fault? She needs to figure out how to get rid of the bad luck─and fast!

“This delightful family [teaches] middle grade readers about life in a traditional Jewish family. This particular family approaches life with a sense of adventure and humor as well as a mega-dose of good values and common sense…The joyous family celebrates and the reader has a grand time learning about Jewish wedding customs, including their associated vocabulary, as well as learning how to help a shy and fearful friend, and maybe even a few new knock-knock jokes, too.
Highly recommended for ages 8-12.”  (Click here to read full review) 

Jewish Book Council

“[Hoopla Under the Huppah] has a great deal of middle school humor and amazement; many puns; and a series of misadventures both imagined and real. It can serve as a resource for a class on Jewish Life Cycles or to educate students who have upcoming family weddings and is well suited to middle-grade readers who have graduated from other Jewish wedding books like Don’t Sneeze at the Wedding (Kar-Ben, 2013) and The Flower Girl Wore Celery (Kar-Ben, 2016).”

Association of Jewish Libraries

The energy of the characters jumps off the page as you see the world through their eyes—the humor and challenges of daily living and family life all brought together by emerging understandings of Jewish ritual. YaYa’s and YoYo’s questions and observations about Jewish weddings offer wonderful springboards for lively discussion in school and informal educational settings. L’hayim!” 

Ray Levi PhD, Director
Day School Leadership Training Institute
William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, The Jewish Theological Seminary

“Hoopla Under the Huppah is an engaging story, written from the perspective of a precocious pre-teen, about the preparations for her aunt’s upcoming wedding. Author Dori Weinstein captures her heroine’s thoughts, concerns, and emotions as we share YaYa’s confusion as well as her complex experiences which encompass a broken arm, a splattered ketubah, and more. Throughout the story readers are introduced to the beautiful and meaningful customs and traditions surrounding a Jewish wedding just as YaYa begins to learn more about her family and herself. This delightful book is appropriate for every young reader!” 

Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlberg
Senior Rabbi Emeritus
Adas Israel Congregation, Washington DC

“Oh, how I love YaYa and YoYo! As a Lutheran pastor, I learned and laughed much in this third book around these charming and hilarious twins. Beautiful, creative, and authentic explanations—so accessible, even for those of us who are not Jewish. The joy and beauty of this wedding, and all of the rituals and traditions around it, are tremendous fun. I adore this sweet family and am so glad there is another book about their adventures in faith and love.”  

“In YaYa & YoYo: Hoopla Under the Huppah, Ellie (YaYa) and her brother Joel (YoYo) are invited to be in their favorite aunt’s wedding. YaYa gets caught up in the excitement and wants everything to be perfect! When her well-meaning actions don’t go as planned, YaYa turns to Jewish tradition to help her make things right. YaYa is a lovable main character with relatable flaws and lots of charm. Readers will ultimately root for open hearted YaYa as she learns about the true meaning of family and friendship.”      

 Barbara Bietz
Author of Like a Maccabee, and The Sundown Kid-A Southwestern Shabbat

“Hoopla Under the Huppah is just the kind of book I would’ve loved to be able to recommend to kids when I was a Jewish Day School librarian! YaYa and YoYo and their family are charming and believable characters, and the book artfully interweaves a wealth of information about Jewish wedding ritual and tradition into the engaging (pardon the pun) story of Aunt Rachel’s wedding. I loved the touches of humor and goofiness, and the way the family, like so many real-life families I know, integrates Jewish observance into their contemporary lives with joy and playfulness. Kol Hakavod!” 

Elisabeth Kushner
Author of The Purim Superhero