Tear off a chunk of challah instead.
Who knew? It turns out that mischievous green creatures are responsible for challah, that tasty staple of Jewish festivals.
Three green goblins enjoy disrupting the lives of the schoolchildren of Knottingham by messing up their hair. The goblins, named “Knotty, Knotsalot, and Notnow,” live up to their names on a daily basis and think that their actions are quite funny. Not so the children and their parents, who must unmuss the messy mops. Finally, the children, who have such bakery-related last names as Honeydrizzle, Tablespoon, and Goldencrust, concoct a recipe of squishy dough to foil the little green monsters, covering their hair with unbaked dough that traps the goblins. They are so eager to escape they promise "to never again tangle children's hair." And from that day to this, the families of Knottingham bake a “braided sweet bread called challah.” The author’s note pays tribute to the wonderful smell of challah as a sign that Shabbat is close. Unfortunately, there is no recipe nor explanation of why challah is actually such an integral part of the Friday night Shabbat festive meal, depicted in one of the concluding images. Readers unfamiliar with the bread will find this original tale puzzling, and those who imagine baking and eating that hairy dough will find it unappealing. And children will be mystified that anyone would consider this an effective way to keep hair from becoming knotted. The cartoonish illustrations are awash in greens and feature a mostly white cast of children (one child appears to be Asian and another black).
Tear off a chunk of challah instead. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68115-526-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Apples & Honey Press
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017
An upbeat holiday tale marred by spotty logic.
An unusual Hanukkah miracle.
On the first night of Hanukkah, Ruthie’s parents give her a pair of holiday-themed “pajamakkahs.” Dad says that she can wear them to the family’s “Hanukkah Pajamakkah Party” on the eighth night. Ruthie wants to wear them “all eight nights.” Mom agrees but tells her to keep them “spotless.” Despite Ruthie’s precautions, she accrues myriad stains as she helps cook latkes, lights the menorah, does arts and crafts, and crashes into a pile of jelly doughnuts. But there are no spots here, says Ruthie—just “streaks,” “splotches,” “sparkles,” and “squishes.” On the final night of Hanukkah, the whole family and even the dog sport pajamakkahs of their own. Mom’s aghast at Ruthie’s pj’s. Dad says it’s a miracle they lasted eight nights, but he sees spots. “Dotted, not spotted,” Ruthie counters. Other, racially diverse, pajama-clad family members arrive. Ruthie twirls the dreidel and, inexplicably, causes a whirlwind, upending latkes, art supplies, and more. Are those spots on Ruthie’s pajamakkahs at last? Finally, Ruthie says, “a Hanukkah miracle!” This thinly plotted, only mildly amusing story is rife with logical holes. Even the youngest readers won’t believe Ruthie’s parents didn’t insist the badly soiled pj’s should get tossed in the washer sooner. It isn’t clear what’s so miraculous about Ruthie’s dirty jammies, and the child’s literalness wears thin. The cheerful, digitally created illustrations feature familiar Hanukkah symbols but are otherwise undistinguished. Ruthie and her immediate family are pale-skinned.
An upbeat holiday tale marred by spotty logic. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781728284576
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
Low-key and gentle; a book to be thankful for.
Spinelli lists many things for which people are thankful.
The pictures tell a pleasing counterpoint to this deceptively simple rhyme. It begins “The waitress is thankful for comfortable shoes. / The local reporter, for interesting news.” The pictures show a little girl playing waitress to her brother, who playacts the reporter. The news gets interesting when the girl trips over the (omnipresent) cat. As the poem continues, the Caucasian children and their parents embody all the different roles and occupations it mentions. The poet is thankful for rhyme and the artist, for light and color, although the girl dancer is not particularly pleased with her brother’s painterly rendition of her visual art. The cozy hotel for the traveler is a tent for the siblings in the backyard, and the grateful chef is their father in the kitchen. Even the pastor (the only character mentioned who is not a family member) is grateful, as he is presented with a posy from the girl, for “God’s loving word.” The line is squiggly and energetic, with pastel color and figures that float over white space or have whole rooms or gardens to roam in. Both children, grateful for morning stories, appear in a double-page spread surrounded by books and stuffed toys as their mother reads to them—an image that begs to be a poster.
Low-key and gentle; a book to be thankful for. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-310-00088-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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