| ________________
CM . . . . Volume XXIV Number 22. . . . February 9, 2018
excerpt:
Open doors are the beginning of family gatherings and celebrations of all kinds. No matter the reason to gather, love is the overriding theme, the glue that holds everyone together. Open doors are the beginning of family gatherings and celebrations of all kinds. No matter the reason to gather, love is the overriding theme, the glue that holds everyone together. The family in this board book is celebrating Passover, the spring holiday that marks the escape - the Exodus - of Jews from Egypt in the time when a cruel pharaoh enslaved them to build pyramids and monuments to his royal glory. Historians estimate the events may have taken place around 1300 B.C.E. Author Monique Polak doesn’t delve deeply into the details of Passover but looks at it from a child’s point of view. Children absorb their family’s customs and teachings through repetition, learning more each year until they become inseparable from their identity. Her brief text reflects the way a child experiences the event. Bright, close-up photographs capture the fascination of the event and the joy kids feel being close to their loved ones. A lovely shot taken from above the “kids’ table” shows children gathered around the traditional dishes that represent different parts of the Passover story - matzo, hard-boiled eggs and bitter herbs. Polak uses only English words, choosing not to introduce the Hebrew terms commonly used. The Passover meal can last for hours and hours if all the prayers are intoned and rituals followed. But many families shorten the service dramatically; it’s more of an enjoyable meal together, with special dishes and activities. So it seems with this family. The children see their relatives (“Grandpa wants a kiss. Watch out for his scratchy beard!”) and learn a bit about the story of Moses (“a baby like you”), who stood up to the Pharaoh and his army and led the Jews out of Egypt:
Daddy tells the best stories. One’s about a baby like you, who grew up strong and brave. The blue of the text is a traditional colour in Jewish culture. The small board book size will please both grandparents, parents and children who will turn these pages often as they remember their loving family events and look forward for those to come. Highly Recommended. A recently retired teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB, Harriet Zaidman has loving childhood memories of her family’s Passover seders, and she creates them for her family, too.
Next Review |
Table of Contents for This Issue
- February 9, 2018. |
