CHALLAH DAY!

It’s time to make the challah, and this loving Jewish family is ready for a day of fun.

It will be a long process, but Mom, Dad, Baby, and the young protagonist have the recipe and all the necessary ingredients and utensils—and they plan to work together. The child narrator invites readers to join them (“Come and bake with us today!”) and describes all the action in rhyming couplets as the family makes the traditional braided egg bread. Even the dog is involved, grabbing the challah in its mouth to help braid it and helping to set the table, which might elicit an “Eww, gross” from readers. Grandparents arrive with hugs, the candles are lit, and the challah is perfect and wonderfully delicious. As the events unfold, the family’s reactions are evident in their body language and facial expressions, with the strongest emotions being the sheer love and joy in being together. Delightful cartoon illustrations—both single- and double-page spreads and vignettes—enhance the slight tale. In the endpapers and in a central double-page spread, the young protagonist is seen as a tiny sprite leaping and dancing among the ingredients. Backmatter explains that challah is customarily eaten on many Jewish holidays, including Shabbat. The brown-haired, light-skinned characters all have large brown eyes, with Dad and the narrator sporting oversized eyeglasses. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A timeless Shabbat tradition sweetly told.