Around the Passover Table

As a group gathers for Passover, Newman and Santos walk readers through a joyful evening. After everyone admires “fresh springtime flowers and once-a-year dishes,” the seder gets underway. There are roles for all, including the pets, who join in the singing of “Dayenu.” The authors don’t elucidate the steps in their exact order—the four glasses of wine (here, grape juice) are checked off on a single spread. But the overall arc of the ritual service and dinner is conveyed in succinct rhymes (“Dip karpas, swish, swish/ Take turns, pass the dish”). Santos emphasizes the sense of a shared experience by including the entire table in most of the cartooned compositions, keeping the visuals fresh by slightly shifting perspectives. While not the most galvanizing depiction, the book does positively model proper seder behavior, with nary a complaint of “When do we eat?” Ages 3–5. [em](Mar.) [/em]