SADIE'S SHABBAT STORIES
by Melissa Stoller illustrated by Lisa Goldberg
The love of storytelling and the importance of family pass from one generation to the next in Stoller’s picture book.
Sadie and Nana help prepare the table for Shabbat every week. They bake challah and set the table with silver candlesticks, a sacred kiddush cup, and a challah cover. Sadie loves to hear Nana tell stories and begs her to tell the tale of each item on the table. Nana explains how each item was kept safe by different ancestors who underwent terrible ordeals, like pogroms. Sadie aspires to tell wonderful stories like Nana, and she soon invents her own about her ancestors joining them to celebrate Shabbat. The book depicts the passage of time, and Sadie eventually passes such stories down to her own grandchildren. Goldberg’s warm, Chagall-inspired illustrations depict a happy Jewish family, with varying skin tones, partaking in cherished customs. Sadie’s desire to pass on her family history will ring true for anyone with immigrant ancestry, regardless of whether they practice Judaism. The story does not go into details about various plights of the Jewish people but offers a good introduction to such topics.
A well-considered, tender tale about sharing history and holidays via the oral tradition.