ON PASSOVER

In an impressive debut, Fishman captures the emotion of the Passover celebration through the observations of a young narrator who recounts her family's annual preparations for the holiday. Childlike, fluid prose evokes sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and rituals, as the girl helps her mother take out the special dishes, pots, and pans, and the objects used before the holiday to remove all traces of leavened bread from the house: ``That night we light the candle and carry it around the darkened house. The flame sends shadow people dancing on the walls as the feather sweeps forgotten bits of leavened bread into the spoon.'' Scratchy mixed-media illustrations are a worthy counterpart to the text, combining images of the preparations and the symbols of the holiday in a swirl of textures and line. In soft pinks, greens, and gold, figures glide in and out of borders, furniture tilts and floats, vegetables dance over the cooking pot, and visions of other times and events long past fill the pages. A welcome addition to the holiday shelf. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-10)