A cheery Passover story, destined to become a holiday favorite.
How can matzoh go missing?
At the Cohen family’s seder on the first night of Passover, Grandpa Murray follows tradition and breaks the middle piece of matzoh into two. He wraps the larger piece—the afikomen—in a napkin and goes to hide it. Grandpa considers, then rejects, several places. When he hears his favorite word—soup—called out, he abandons his efforts, returning to the table. After everyone finishes reading the Haggadah and eats, the four grandkids hunt for the afikomen but have no luck. Grandpa Murray sheepishly admits he forgot the hiding place; Grandma Norma says it must be found so that they can finish the seder. Three grandkids continue searching, but one, David, hugs Grandpa consolingly. But what’s this? A cracking sound! It’s not Grandpa’s ribs; it’s the sound of matzoh, coming from Grandpa’s pocket! Afterward, per tradition, everyone eats some afikomen, and the seder ends. This warm, jocular Passover story is enlivened by crisp, spare cartoon illustrations, drawn with pen and ink; color was added digitally. Humorously, matzoh can be found throughout the book: The word matzoh on the title page is made from broken matzoh pieces, while the endpapers feature matzoh plus bowls of matzoh-ball soup. Even the onomatopoeic “KERR-ACK” issuing from Grandpa’s pocket resembles the titular food. Some family members are pale-skinned; some have light tan skin.
A cheery Passover story, destined to become a holiday favorite. (hiding the afikomen) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780063311183
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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