This weekend sees the launch of Colour In Jewish UK from the husband-and wife team behind the Colour Your Streets colouring book series.
Entrepreneur Jeremy Weil and broadcaster Emma Barnett founded publishing company Colour Your Streets in 2023 after their then-five-year-old son had shown interest in their local area and they couldn’t find any books suitable for him. So they made one, and Colour In Herne Hill was born.
There are now 150 books in the series, mapping the whole of the UK’s neighbourhoods, cities and towns.
The new book celebrates sights and landmarks that define UK Jewish culture, history, heritage, religion and community. It features 16 landmarks and sights all over the country including Bevis Marks, the Kindertransport arrival statue at Liverpool Street Station and JW3 in London, Bradford Synagogue, Jaffe Fountain in Belfast, Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire and Princes Road Synagogue in Canterbury. Plus, in a nod to where Emma grew up, the Manchester Jewish Museum.
“After a joyful and unexpected conversation with Claudia Rubenstein, the director of the Jewish Literary Foundation… the idea for a colouring book of Jewish landmarks across the UK was unexpectedly born,” says Emma.
The couple consulted with professional heritage consultant Marcus Roberts, chief executive of JW3 Raymond Simonson, and Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild. “The result is something beautiful and a product which inspires a feeling of Jewish pride,” says Emma. “In our experience of mapping the UK’s towns, cities and neighbourhoods through our Colour Your Streets books, colouring in allows adults and children alike to experience the world in a different way, share stories and appreciate details they haven’t noticed before. And then comes the best part – sharing memories and stories prompted by the images.”
Emma and Jeremy will launch the book with a talk at Jewish Book Week on Saturday 1 March. For tickets visit jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk
Colour in Jewish UK is £14.99 from colouryourstreets.co.uk
