THE PURIM PANIC

Come celebrate Purim with Ruby and her family.

Ruby, her little brother, Benny, her father, and her grandmother have fun making hamantaschen in several delicious flavors to share with relatives. Bubbe helps Benny make a grogger, a Purim noisemaker. Then Ruby discovers that her very special ruby ring, a Hanukkah gift from Bubbe, is missing, and thorough searches by Dad and other relatives, who have arrived to celebrate, come up empty. Through it all, Benny shouts, “Grogger!” and shakes his noisemaker, irritating an already upset Ruby. But it’s time to go to the synagogue for the reading of the megillah. Ruby dresses as Queen Esther, Benny is a lion, and the cousins are all in costumes as well. Groggers are shaken at every mention of Haman’s name, with boos thrown in for good measure. Ruby participates, but her heart isn’t in it, for the ring is very much on her mind. Finally, the ring is found—as it turns out, the clues to its location have been there all along. Ruby, Benny, their father, and most other family members are dark-haired and tan-skinned; one cousin is slightly darker-skinned. Gehl tells the story simply, with emphasis on the loving interactions of the extended family and their joy in the Jewish traditions of Purim; brightly hued illustrations bring to life Ruby’s sadness, frustration, and, finally, relief. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An affectionate, expressive depiction of a Jewish family celebration.