Passover: Celebrating Now, Remember Then

Through a series of handsome, mural-like gatefolds, Ziefert and Gudeon, who previously collaborated on Hanukkah Haiku, remind readers that every Passover Seder exists in two realms of time simultaneously: the time of Now, when participants partake of all the rituals in retelling the Passover story, and Then, when the story actually unfolded. "Now... We dip the parsley in salt water. We taste the bitter herbs. We dip parsley in salt water to remind us of the tears shed during slavery," declares the left hand page of one spread, opposite illustrations of the items from the Seder table: karpas (parsley); maror (bitter herbs) and chazeret (lettuce). Opening the gatefold, readers see a weeping family from ancient times: "Then... the Israelites labored as slaves in Pharaoh's fields." The buoyantly contemporary illustrations and encyclopedic approach should make this a welcome addition in most homes; younger children in particular will find this an appealing step up from books like Sammy Spider's First Passover. Ages 4–up (Mar.)