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It’s not a proper holiday dinner
without all the ingredients, and a Passover Seder needs matzah.
Passover is about to start, and
there is consternation in one apartment. Well, not for the human family but for
the mouse family who lives in their Belowstairs home. There is no matzah, not
even a crumb for the mouse-sized celebration. Grandpa Mouse blames it on the
human family’s new tin box. The humans proceed with the Seder Abovestairs, and
the father hides the afikoman. When the youngest child, Eli, goes in search of
the hidden board of matzah, Miriam Mouse watches with great interest. The two
meet, and Miriam comes up with the perfect solution—an even split. Passover can
proceed for the rodents, and the Seder can conclude for the humans. The human family
is depicted as observant, with the men wearing kippot. The mice also wear them.
The story is slight, and even with a very brief author’s note, those who do not
celebrate Passover will not gain any understanding of this very important and
meaningful holiday. Meanwhile, those who do may find themselves feeling
insulted by its rudimentary nature. The digitized illustrations are colorfully
comic in style, but they do not make the most of the difference in sizes
between the humans and the rodents. The humans present white, and Eli wears
glasses.
Not a necessary or even additional
purchase. (author’s note) (Picture book/religion. 3-5)
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