Passover, a holiday in which Jews are called upon to personally experience a transition from slavery to freedom, is celebrated with a festive meal, the Passover seder, which occurs twice during the holiday. Seders are often occasions for family reunions, complete with new and old traditions.
In Mindy Avra Portnoy’s A Tale of Two Seders, a girl’s Passover traditions are disrupted. “The year after my mom and dad stopped being married to each other, I went to two seders in two places—one at Dad’s apartment, and one at Mom’s house,” she explains. Over the course of 3 years and 6 seders, she recounts the differences between these unique celebrations. Dad’s matzo balls are sticky, and his celebrations eventually include his new fiancée; Mom can cook, but her seders are too long. Readers will enjoy the touching story as well as the recipes for charoset, a sweet Passover food, from around the world which are included in the back.
Many thanks to GBJCL tutor Penny Schwartz, whose review from 2010 tipped us off to this title.
To see all of our past book suggestions for Jewish holidays, click here.
Also, don’t forget to sign up here to join us to hear award-winning author Jonathan Kozol speak about poverty and education in America at an upcoming GBJCL meet-up.
Chag Sameach (Wishes for a happy holiday),
Vita Weinstein Murrow
GBJCL Director
Leora Kling Perkins
GBJCL Program Coordinator
*A note: These holiday books are a special treat for your own enjoyment with the children in your life. While our Jewish book selections focus more on history and culture than religion, and therefore would generally be appropriate to read to a child in a public school, that is not the purpose we have in mind for these selections.
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