Goldie's Purim

This is a welcome, lovingly interpreted entry in Zalben's ( Leo and Blossom's Sukkah ) holiday series. Here the whole family is busily preparing for Purim--baking hamantaschen (traditional triangle-shaped pastry), sewing costumes and practicing lines for the Purim play, giving shalach manot (little gifts of food) to neighbors and friends. Goldie is both excited and a bit nervous--she has the leading role of Queen Esther in the play. At synagogue the next day, the play is a success--especially Goldie. Papa reads the megillah (the biblical story of Esther) and the Purim party is great fun. Zalben's detailed drawings of cozy interior scenes and her sweetly anthropomorphized bears are appealingly childlike. An afterword includes information on the Purim play and a recipe for hamantaschen. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)