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
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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
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