Afikomen
Three children experience a fantastic, time-traveling adventure during their Passover Seder in this wordless picture book. The story opens on a diverse group seated around a broad dinner table, Haggadot open in front of them. The Seder leader snaps a piece of matzah in two and puts one half in a bag: This is the Afikomen—the eating of which will eventually signal the end of the Seder—which the children, who have light-brown skin, promptly squirrel away. Crawling beneath the blue tablecloth, they magically emerge on the other side from a tent in ancient Egypt. There, along the banks of the Nile, they see a woman and her daughter sorrowfully place an infant—Moses!—into a floating basket. The children guide Moses away from dangers and discovery and toward his destination (Pharaoh’s daughter, who will raise him) as he drifts downriver. First, though, they stop to share a piece of matzo with him. Once he is safe, the children wave to Moses’s mother before making their return journey from tent to tablecloth, where they relinquish the Afikomen to end the night. Detailed ink and watercolor illustrations follow the imagined heroic actions of three children on a night when Jews around the world envision themselves within the Exodus story. ©2023 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Yaara Eshet
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Celebrations, Holidays, and Observances
Jewish People
Wordless Books
Diversity subject:
Brown Skin Unspecified
Jewish
Publishers:
Groundwood, House of Anansi
Publish Year: 2023
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781773066066
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Cohen