A Jewish family sits down to eat. “Bread and butter on my plate. / I’m so hungry, I can’t wait. // But before I take a bite, / I say some words / that feel just right.” The unidentified narrator (a yarmulke-topped little boy or a curly-headed little girl, both early-elementary age in Iwai’s illustrations) briefly describes the hamotzi blessing, thanking God for “[g]ood food, a home, a family.” The full blessing appears on the last page in both transliterated Hebrew and a loosely translated English. This well-meaning book falls short. The two kids are too old for babies—presumably this format’s target audience—to identify with. Children in observant families will have heard hamotzi from their earliest days; an explanation is better suited to preschool children, who are full of whys, than babies and toddlers, but this vehicle is too young for them. (Board book. 2-4)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7613-3954-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, colorful start for a Christian spiritual journey.
A cheery child gives thanks to God.
“When I see a rainbow / High up in the sky / I say a little prayer of thanks, / And here’s the reason why: // Because God loves me!” This board book’s focus is the comforting notion that God loves all his children, and no matter what, he will always look out for them. The text follows an ABCB rhyme scheme, breaking after every stanza to repeat the phrase “Because God loves me!” The small, light-skinned child has spiky brown hair and wears a dress; both the child and a chubby accompanying dog are appealingly illustrated with a bright, simple color palette and scratchy lines that appear to have been made with colored pencil. God is the only name given for the deity, implying a primarily Christian audience. The book’s message is clear, and its construction is sturdy, suiting this well to parents who are beginning to have conversations with their little readers regarding their beliefs.
A sweet, colorful start for a Christian spiritual journey. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58925-237-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Festive fun for the preschool set that serves up good educational fare, too.
A little boy enjoys the delights of the Passover seder.
In a variation of the popular peekaboo game, a White toddler peeps out from behind his fingers and notes all of the items on the dinner table. There are candles, matzah, an egg on the seder plate, parsley, and Elijah’s cup. There’s also a pillow for reclining, a bowl of matzah ball soup, and the Haggadah (a liturgical book that recounts the story of the biblical Exodus). The illustrations provide only a glimpse of each item at first; children must turn the pages to discover what each object is. After all is revealed, the boy and his family—a mother, father, and grandfather—offer up a spirited rendition of “Had Gadya” (“One Little Goat”), a playful, cumulative song traditionally sung at the conclusion of the seder. At the end, readers are invited to identify objects on their own tables. With just one line of text per page and colorful, digital illustrations throughout, this board book can serve as a fun introduction to an important Jewish festival, ideally facilitated by adults who can fill in additional details. The male characters wear kippot, and the mother serves the soup. A delightful element of the visual narrative is the family cat who mimics the boy’s facial expressions.
Festive fun for the preschool set that serves up good educational fare, too. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72842-431-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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