Kindergarten-Grade 6-With beautifully crafted poetic text and symbolic paintings in gouache and acrylics, Podwal takes readers on a journey through the Jewish holidays and the foods that are essential elements of each observance and rite. The potato latkes of Hanukkah recall a miracle of lights while honey cakes on Shavuot symbolize the Torah's promise of a "land of milk and honey." Don't expect recipes and crafts. Rather, enjoy the artful and witty illustrations, each of which creates a colorful and fanciful tableau. For the autumn harvest festival of Sukkot, during which families eat in huts "that let the stars shine through," Podwal depicts a solar system of fruits. For Purim, a spring holiday celebrating the time that Esther saved the Persian Jews from Haman, children wear hamantaschen as costumes. A welcome addition to holiday collections.

Susan Pine, New York Public Library

Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

PreS-Gr. 3. Fanciful images daubed in gouache and acrylics create bright, contemporary symbols of the timeless role food plays in the Jewish holidays. Each page of creative art faces thoughtful, yet economically phrased, text explaining each holiday and the unique customs or legends surrounding the traditional food of the religious observance. An olive branch blossoms into pink dreidels to illustrate Podwal's almost poetic verbal picture of the sights, smells, food, and history surrounding the miraculous vial of olive oil that burns at the heart of Hanukkah festivities. A gargantuan slice of cheesecake looms like Mt. Sinai over tents in the desert, representing the dairy delights served at Shavuot, the commemoration of the Israelites' receiving the Ten Commandments in the wilderness. Additional brief facts and anecdotes complete this compact, yet hugely imaginative, evocation of Jewish observances. Ellen Mandel

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