The Passover Journey: A Seder Companion

Features

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Cover Type: Paperback with 64 pages
• Published by: Puffin March 1, 1997
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0140561315
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0140561319
• Book Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.9 x 0.2 inches
• Weighs: 8.5 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Offering both an authoritative guide and a well-crafted story, Goldin ( Just Enough Is Plenty ; Cakes and Miracles ) thoughtfully and elegantly explains the traditions of Passover. She sets the stage by recounting Moses and the Israelites' journey out of Egypt, then takes readers step by step through the 14 sections of the seder, the ritual meal that begins the holiday. In an invitingly conversational style, Goldin outlines the historic and symbolic significance of the different rituals and foods, emphasizes the importance of remembrance (she describes the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which erupted during Passover in 1943, and suggests that Holocaust survivors and Soviet emigres be invited to share their memories) and discusses ways of personalizing the seder. Sidebars highlight related topics, from ancient Baghdad customs to the omission of Moses from the Haggadah, the Passover prayerbook. Waldman's ( The Ty ger ) radiant watercolors underscore the changing moods of the text, with earthy browns and reds dominating the illustrations of the Exodus, and dusky purples and twilight blues suffusing the pages devoted to specific elements of the seder. All ages.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Goldin tells the story of the Exodus and explains the traditions of the Passover Seder. She has integrated midrashim (invented tales used to explain certain occurrences and phenomena) into her retelling of the Biblical account. The result is an enriched interpretation of the Passover story, incorporating history and folklore. In describing how Jews today can relive the Exodus experience, she is insightful and inventive. Her writing is graceful- simple, but eloquent. The gorgeously designed book showcases Waldman's extreme proficiency of the art of watercolor. The pages are suffused in a graded wash of color, some beginning with a peach blush that fades to lighter tones like a sunset; others are awash in pastel blue and aqua, punctuated with fuschia and earth tones. Varied stylized borders and two-dimensional perspectives reflect the influence of Egyptian art. This resonant text can be used as a haggadah or as a companion to it, or as an introduction to Passover.
Marcia Posner, Federation of New York and the Jewish Book Council, New York City
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
At one point in "The Passover Journey: A Seder Companion," author Barbara Diamond Goldin explains that there are four different places in the Bible that instruct parents to tell the Passover story to their children. The Rabbis who created the Seder came up with the idea of four different children who represent four different ways to tell about the Exodus: the wise child, the wicked child, the innocent child, and the child who does not even know how to ask a question. This develops the goal of telling about Passover so that each child can understand the story. Within that context it becomes clear that "The Passover Journey" is a volume that can speak to any child (or former child) whatever initial knowledge about the Seder they have to the reading of this book. Illustrated by Neil Waldman with drawings of warm pastel colors that recall the temple art of Ancient Egypt, "The Passover Journey" is divided into two parts. Part One, The Israelites' Journey: The Story of the Exodus, goes back to the enslavement of the Israelites and the birth of the baby Moses. The story tells of the ten plagues that befell Egypt and ends with the Israelites walking through the parted Sea of Reeds to freedom. Part Two, Making the Israelites' Journey Our Own that tells us all about the Seder and then details its Fourteen Steps. The first part is fairly familiar to those who have read the book of Genesis or seen either "The Ten Commandments" or "The Prince of Egypt." Obviously the second part is going to be the most informative and Goldin explains everything from haroset (an apple and nut mixture that looks like the bricks and mortar the Israelites used to build Pharoadh's cities) to the well known Seder song, "Dayyenu." The Fourteen Steps of the Seder are laid out and Goldin makes a point of anticipating and answering the questions that could be asked (by any one of those aforementioned four children). The strength of this book is that it asks and answers questions about Passover that not only lead to an understanding of its rituals and symbols, but also provides an appreciation of their historical context. I knew that as much as I knew about the story of Passover that I knew little about the Seder; this book simply proves how little I knew. This book is ideal either for children who have questions about Passover and the Seder, or for their parents, who would like to be able to answer their children's questions on their own. Comment | | (Report this)