November 30, 2015
In Newman and Garofoli’s third board book highlighting a Jewish celebration, following Shabbat Is Coming! and Hanukkah Is Coming!, the book’s title becomes a refrain as a family prepares for Passover seder. “We wet hands and scoop,/ Making matzah ball soup,/ Passover is coming,” writes Newman as a boy and an older relative, presumably his grandfather, work together. As in the previous books, Garofoli does a fine job of capturing the family’s closeness as they clean, discuss the Four Questions, hunt for the afikomen, eat together, and more. Well-crafted rhymes and cozy illustrations make this a solid choice for pre-Passover reading. Ages 1–4.
May 1, 2016
PreS-K-Three new board books, lovingly produced with bright illustrations and fairly simple text. All three are "insider" stories meant for readers familiar with Jewish customs. One Fine Shabbat is about preschoolers Seth and Sophie Fine, who celebrate one Shabbat with their parents during a rural autumnal picnic. It's a pleasant slice of life but ends oddly and abruptly with the children in their beds and the text "What games do you think/Seth and Sophie will play/When they wake from their naps on/this fine Shabbat day?" with the rest of the day still ahead of them. Shh...Shh...Shabbat highlights the contrast between a busy week and a peaceful Shabbat. Sunday through Thursday's settings appear to be American, Friday includes Hebrew signage, and Saturday reveals that the setting is Jerusalem, where indeed the whole community does slow down for Shabbat. Passover Is Coming! shows the preparations and celebrations of a family. The textual pattern is to end each page with "Passover is coming" until the final page, when "Passover is here!" However, by the last few pages, Passover is already here, with the four questions being asked, the meal being enjoyed, and the afikomen being sought. This makes the refrain awkward and inaccurate.
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July 1, 2016
This playfully illustrated board book introduces some of the customs and rituals of the centerpiece of the Passover holiday: the Seder. Passover will soon be here, and a three-generation family (and their dog) prepare for the traditional holiday. With dustpan and broom they clean every room. Grandfather and grandchild wet their hands and scoop up the meal that will make the matzo balls for the soup. Grandmother and grandchild prepare the Seder plate. Parsley, egg, bitter herbs, bone, greens, and charoset are all there. As the Seder begins, the children recite the traditional four questions they have learned. They dip, drink, and eat, and lean back in their seats. Now it is time to find the afikomen. The book ends back at the table: "Our seder is great, / We all celebrate!" Following the same format used in Shabbat is Coming! (2014) and Hanukkah is Coming! (2015), Newman's rhyming couplets are followed on each page with the titular "Passover is coming!" Unfortunately though, that only works for the first half of the book; for the second half, "Passover is here!" would have been more appropriate. Also, there is a disconnect between text and illustration on the four-questions page, as the text has the children learning, but the illustration has them at the Seder reciting the questions. A sweet introduction in spite of its incongruities. (Board book. 1-4)
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