Passover Notes
A new board book gives youngest readers a share of the Passover celebration. In Varda Livney's What I Like About Passover, cheerfully colored cartoons show a girl as she lists her favorite elements of the holiday, from the seder plate (its contents are labeled in Hebrew) and the Haggadah to "being with all of you!" (she sits amid a multigenerational crowd at the holiday table). Explanations of the rituals don't appear; this title is for those who, like the narrator, are at home with the holiday. (S&S/Little Simon, $4.99 14p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-689-84491-3; Jan.)
Like other entries in the publisher's My First series, DK's My First Passover Board Book uses photographs and mostly self-contained spreads to introduce core ideas and concepts. Costumed children, for example, mime the roles of Moses, Pharaoh and the fleeing Jews, and a box of matzoh meal illustrates the notion of "special Kosher for Passover food." Explanations may seem a bit dumbed-down, as in the identification of the sixth plague as "nasty illness" (depicted with a head shot of a boy with red spots drawn on his face). (DK, $6.95 36p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-7894-8452-8; Jan.)
Jane Breskin Zalben's anthropomorphic sheep, most recently seen in Pearl's Eight Days of Chanukah, return in Pearl's Passover: A Family Celebration Through Stories, Recipes, Crafts and Songs. Zalben explores the history of the holiday and explains how it is observed as she describes Pearl's preparations—including her trepidation about spending time with her obstreperous cousins. The crafts run to such projects as making a matzoh cover (stitch two squares of cotton together along three sides, then decorate), and the handful of recipes is similarly familiar—except for one that challenges readers to make their own matzoh. The illustrations reflect Zalben's characteristic delicacy and attention to detail, and the story has both tender and humorous moments. Basic directions for a seder and traditional songs round out the volume. (S&S, $16 48p ages 3-7 ISBN 0-689-81487-0; Jan.)
