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Review: A Purr-fect Passover

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A Purr-fect Passover by Jenna Waldman, illustrated by Erica J. Chen Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Susan Tarcov   Buy at Bookshop.org Three kittens—each different, each adorable—prepare for and host a Passover seder. They go through all the steps, from searching the house for leavened foods at the beginning of the book to cleaning up after the meal at the end. The story is told with wit (the Four Questions begin with “Meow-nishtanah”) and in impressively “purr-fect” rhythm and rhyme: It's afikoman searching time, where can that matzah be? High and low, the kitties go, but who will find it? “Me!” Although all the seder guests are cats, at the end even the mouse in the house gets a taste of matzah. The illustrations have clever little touches: each flower painted by the kittens is clearly a single pawprint. The kitties are of various breeds - tabby, Siamese, and tortoiseshell. They wear no markers of Judaism (no kippot or ...
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Review: Passover on Everest

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Passover on Everest by Rachelle Burk, illustrated by Craig Orback Intergalactic Afikoman, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeff Gottesfeld   Buy at Bookshop.org This nonfiction picture book introduces us to Nikki Bart, a young Jewish climber. Together with her mother, she scaled mountains of all sizes, beginning with Masada in Israel when Nikki was just a girl. When Nikki moved into teen-hood, she and her mother set an ambitious goal: to climb the highest mountains on each continent, beginning with their native Australia. They carried out this plan, from Denali to Kilimanjaro. The only one remaining was Everest.  Nikki and her family were also Jews who observed Passover, with a beloved seder where Nikki would share her adventures with those in attendance. It turned out that Nikki and her mother's trip to Mount Everest would coincide with Passover. They formed a relationship with their Buddhist sherpa, who was intrigued by the holiday. To their shock, the sherpas arrange...
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Review: Next Year in the White House

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Next Year in the White House: Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder by Richard Michelson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis Crown Books for Young Readers in partnership with PJ Library, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock   Buy at Bookshop.org   Next Year in the White House starts off by telling the reader that while Christmas and Easter had long been observed at the White House, 2009 marked the first time that Passover was celebrated. This book recounts the interesting, true story of how that came to be. The first scene opens with Malia, Sasha, and their dog Bo in the formal dining room as the staff prepares a traditional Passover dinner. The table is set beautifully with a Seder plate at the center. At this point, we reach the title page. Aha! So this is where the real story starts. Flashback to a year earlier when three young staffers—Eric, Arun, and Herbie—were on the presidential campaign trail with then-Senator Barack Obama. They believe deeply in their candi...
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Review: The Mysterious Missing Matzoh

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The Mysterious Missing Matzoh by Alan Katz, illustrated by Adam Auerbach Harper (imprint of HarperCollins), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org The Mysterious Missing Matzah opens with the Cohen family – parents and four children - enjoying the Passover seder at Grandpa Murray and Grandma Norma's home. It is time to hide the afikomen and Grandpa Murray wants to find a hiding place which his grandchildren won't be able to detect. However, as he's searching for the perfect spot, he hears that the matzoh ball soup is being served (it seems that this family's practice is to begin eating the meal right after hiding the afikomen). He rejoins his family back at the table, but after the meal, the kids can't find the afikomen and Grandpa Murray doesn't remember, as he got distracted by the aforementioned soup. And so, the mystery is set in motion: where is the afikomen? Pen and ink illustrations combine differe...
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Review: My Seder Plate

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My Seder Plate: A Passover Book by Kristen Weber, illustrated by Yaara Cellier Clarion Books (imprint of HarperCollins), 2025 Category: Board Books Reviewer: Lila Spitz   Buy at Bookshop.org   This Seder plate shaped board book for babies and toddlers educates young readers about the Jewish holiday of Passover. Every page features English and Hebrew names of foods on the Seder plate and an explanation on how the shape, color, and characteristics of each food symbolize specific events in the Passover story. The book begins with an empty Seder plate on the left-hand side of the page, however, as each successive page is turned, another food is added to the plate so that by the end of the story all seven foods on the Seder plate are present. The right-pages feature cartoon illustrations of a multigenerational redheaded Jewish family enjoying cooking, talking and preparing for the Passover Seder meal together. My Seder Plate accurately describes each item on the Seder plate and e...
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Review: Matzah Day

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Matzah Day! by Charlotte Offsay, illustrated by Jason Kirschner Holiday House, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Elizabeth Suneby   Buy at Bookshop.org This upbeat picture book celebrates the many, many ways matzah can be enjoyed, and is sure to get young children excited about Passover and eating matzah. The happy rhyming text and energetic colorful illustrations infuse a rather "dry" (pun intended) subject with joy. Even before the story begins, the wordless mosaic of matzah squares with the family's faces sets a welcoming tone. The book offers an authentic representation of Passover and Judaism on many levels, even alluding to the potential drawbacks of eating matzah: crumbs and constipation! On a more serious note, the child-friendly nonfiction back matter is written for children, but is great for grown-ups who would like a holiday primer. And the back matter offers recipes for matzah and for a sweet and a savory matzah dish.  Editor's Note: This book was in...
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Review: Ellis Island Passover

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Ellis Island Passover written and illustrated by Marissa Moss Creston Books, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman   Buy at Bookshop.org   Great-Uncle Ezra arrives just in time to cheer up a grumpy little girl as her family prepares for Passover. Based on Marissa Moss’ family memoir, Uncle Ezra shares the extraordinary true tale of how he traveled alone when he was 9 years old, first across Europe, then by ship, escaping violent antisemitism. When he arrived at Ellis Island his older brother was not there as expected to sponsor his entry to America. He was well cared for on the island but if his brother coudn’t be found by week’s end then he would be sent back to Europe. During this time he helped create and celebrate a seder for the other Jewish refugees. Without a Haggadah they told the Exodus story from a Hebrew bible, without matzoh they substituted crackers. But the participants all felt they were sharing their own personal Exodus from oppression to free...
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