THE PASSOVER LAMB

The birth of a newborn lamb adds extra challenge and meaning to a traditional Passover Seder for one little girl.

Miriam is eager to attend the Seder at her grandparents’ home; she’s ready to recite, for the first time, the four important questions that introduce the recounting of the Exodus story. But as the family packs the car, Snowball gives birth to three lambs, one of which cannot nurse and must be bottle-fed. Rather than stay home and miss her chance to engage in the ceremony, Miriam remembers the story of how the baby Moses was rescued and cared for from a basket and similarly creates a traveling bed for her newborn lamb. At her grandparents’ home, the lamb is welcomed and affectionately named Moses. Farm images created in graphite and watercolors extend the storyline, depicting a contemporary rural setting; the highlight is a satisfying, domestic scene of a Jewish family gathered for the Seder. While the basic plot complication unfolds and is resolved easily, undercurrent themes of responsibility, kindness and attentiveness emerge from the springtime holiday backdrop.

A satisfying addition to the Passover shelf.