Sky-High Sukkah

Packer’s debut children’s book introduces a girl named Leah, who is excited for Sukkot but unhappy that her family’s apartment building can’t accommodate a sukkah: “There wasn’t any backyard, and no one was ever allowed up on the apartment roof.” After Leah’s friend Ari wins a sukkah in an art contest, they’re one step closer to realizing their dream of an urban celebration, but it takes the whole community, including the local grocer, to create the memorable holiday setting Leah is after. Packer leaves it to adult readers to explain the holiday’s details as needed, keeping her focus on the unfolding family drama, which mostly boils down to logistics (after Leah offers to store the sukkah for Ari’s family, her mother finds holes in the plan: “The Freeds live four blocks away, no one here owns a car, and the sukkah has a lot of heavy pieces”). Zemke’s soft, creamy illustrations help establish the story’s strong sense of community, especially in a scene of neighbors dashing up a crowded stairwell to the rooftop sukkah, potluck contributions in hand. Ages 3–8. (Aug.)