“Ping-Pong Shabbat: The True Story of Champion Estee Ackerman,” by Ann Diament Koffsky. Illustrated by Abigail Rajunov. Little Bee Books. 32 pages. September 10, 2024. ISBN: 9781499816099.
(Courtesy of Queens Jewish Link) When 11-year old ping pong phenom Estee Ackerman had her championship match scheduled on Shabbat, she faced a difficult choice: compete for a gold medal or honor her faith.
Tournament after tournament, Estee kept winning.
She beat all sorts of players. Some were older than Estee. Some were younger. She even beat tennis star Rafael Nadal!
She became one of the best ping pong players in the United States.
Estee Ackerman loved ping pong more than anything. But she also loved and honored the Jewish tradition of Shabbat. At 11, she began to rise in the ranks of tournament players, making it all the way to the finals of the U.S. National Table Tennis Championships. She only had one player left to beat to win a gold medal, but the final match was set during Shabbat, and the judges said they couldn’t change it. How could Estee choose between her passion and her faith?
This is the true story of a girl’s struggle between her love for her religion and her love of the game.
Little Bee Books is a children’s book publisher dedicated to making high-quality, creative and fun books for busy little bees ages 0 through 14. Through three imprints dedicated to children’s, middle grade and licensed titles, Little Bee Books offers an inspired selection of early learning concept books, board books, novelty books, activity books, picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, gift sets and more. For more information, please visit
littlebeebooks.com.
Ann Diament Koffsky is the author and/or illustrator of more than 50 books for kids including the Kayla and Kugel series, The Three Little Sheep, and Different Kinds of Minds with Temple Grandin. Shabbat is definitely her favorite day of the week. Occasionally, Ann enjoys picking up a paddle and playing pickleball . . . but she’s nowhere near as good as Estee! Find out more at annkoffsky.com.
Abigail Rajunov is an illustrator based in Dallas, Texas. She loves to draw silly characters, whimsical scenes and emotional moments. As someone who was raised Jewish, she is honored to help tell Estee’s story for her debut picture book! When she isn’t illustrating, Abigail loves to play video games, strum on her guitar, and plein air paint in her sketchbook. You can find more of her work at abigailrajunov.net
