My First Passover

PreS-Gr 1–With her signature colorful, collage-like illustrations featuring diverse characters with round faces and rosy cheeks, Katz (Where Is Baby’s Belly Button??) presents an overview of the Passover Seder. Most of the traditional steps, labeled in transliterated Hebrew, are explained in clear, simple language, including lighting the candles, drinking wine or juice, handwashing, dipping parsley in salt water, hiding and finding the middle matzah, and asking the four questions. While it is featured in the illustration of the Seder Plate, the ritual involving the bitter herbs is missing from the text, as are the four cups of wine. Despite these and ­other minor omissions, the order of the Seder is well represented. The summary of the story of the Exodus is appropriate for the target audience, and a spread depicts all 10 plagues. The final plague is described as “firstborn sons were struck down” and shows a swaddled baby with a red X over him. At the end of the book, the large multigenerational family with varying skin tones enjoys the festive meal together. Since Jews refrain from eating certain foods such as bread, pasta, and baked goods on Passover, the choice to include noodle pudding on the menu seems out of place, as does the bakery bag carried into the house at the beginning. ­