Oh, wait; that’s not unleavened bread, it’s a board book. In Dayenu: A Favorite Passover Song (Scholastic, February), Miriam Latimer illustrates everyone’s favorite Passover ditty. Instead of tongue-twisting Hebrew lyrics (fifteen verses worth!), the condensed text is twelve pages of cheerful, toddler-friendly gratitude, mostly in English: “When the Jews came out of Egypt, / That was enough to make us happy. / Sing a song and show we’re happy, / Dayenu!” Even if you can’t keep straight your hotzianus and mitzrayims, everyone can belt out the bouncy Hebrew chorus: “Day-Day-enu, / Day-Day-enu, / Day-Day-enu, / Dayenu, Dayenu, Dayenu!” (Repeat, with gusto!)
A Sweet Passover (Abrams, March), written by Lesléa Newman (of Heather Has Two Mommies fame) and illustrated by David Slonim, finds young Miriam celebrating Passover with her extended family. Though she loves matzo—topped with everything from butter and cream cheese to cottage cheese and tuna salad—by the end of the eight-day matzo-thon, she’s “sick, sick, sick” of it. Grandpa brings her back into the fold with his special matzo brei (he calls it “Passover French toast”; a stretch, IMHO). A kid-friendly recipe is included for those who, like Miriam, are feeling a little matzo’ed out.
About Elissa Gershowitz
