THIS IS THE CHALLAH

A brisk, lively cumulative narrative highlights the joyous making of the traditional Sabbath bread, made a little messy when two energetic youngsters help their patient grandmother in the kitchen.

After introducing “the challah that Bubbe made,” ingredients such as water, sugar, salt, yeast, oil, eggs and flour are introduced with each new line of the text, until it is time for a baker’s expertise. “These are the hands that squished the flour / that thickened the oil / that softened the sugar / that sweetened the eggs / that whipped the yeast / that frothed the water / that went in the challah that Bubbe made.” Cheery watercolor-and-graphite drawings depict a modern and youthful-looking grandmother simultaneously administering instructions to a preschool-aged granddaughter and overseeing spilled mishaps by a toddler-aged grandson. They bring out a visual story that parallels the one described in the narrative, culminating in a warm, family dinner. The traditional blessing is reproduced in Hebrew characters, Romanized Hebrew and English, while the dog looks impishly out from under the tablecloth.

Pleasant and easy to recite, the recurring phrases should help guide children as they create their own culinary mayhem when helping out in the weekly Sabbath preparation.