AppleTree
Cover Story
No Grasshoppers For Your Sister
And Other True Tales Of Pesach
Family friendly Haggadot and great reading for the holiday.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Apple-Tree Editor
T
he story is always the same,
but it can be told any
number of ways.
Take Uncle Eli, for example. He
talks Pesach in rhymes, much like Dr.
Seuss.
The Doodle family takes the story
of Pesach seriously, but they tell it
with a lot of humor.
Whether you're looking for some-
thing simple and traditional, or a
rather off=the-wall Haggadah, there's
plenty out there for you to enjoy.
Here are some great Haggadot, and
other books, that you might want to
check out for Pesach.
.
The Doodled Family Haggadah (in
English and Hebrew). Copyright 1995
by Reudor Press.
In Annie Hall, Woody Allen struggles
to find a word to describe what he
feels for Diane Keaton.
"Love" just doesn't cut it — too
common and, well, just not enough.
Maybe something new, he suggests,
like "lurv."
"Lurv," then, is what you will feel
for The Doodled Family Haggadah. It's
that good.
Here, you'll find the traditional
English and Hebrew text. But along
the way you'll meet the Doodle
Family: Bubbe and Zady Doodleman,
Bitsy, Pood (the family dog), D'vorah
Doodle, Mordy Doodle M.D., Uncle
Yankel, Trudy and Oody. The cartoon
characters are fun, funny and smart.
(`.`YES," Mordy tells his son, Oody,
"locust may be kosher. NO, you may
not feed a grasshopper to your sister.")
This is bright, colorful, fascinating
— you can't get enough of it.
If you're one of those who, even
with something this terrific can't make
it through the whole seder, though, be
sure to sneak a peek at the back for
the Doodle Family lyrics. to "Yankee
Doodle" before you fall asleep.
tTN
4/11
2003
78
The Energizing Haggadah for
Children (in English and Hebrew),
illustrations by Janet Zwebner.
Copyright 1998 by Pitspoppany Press.
(in poem form) and absolutely amaz-
ing illustrations.
Family Passover Haggadah: The
This Haggadah is everything you want Prince of Egypt (in English and
Hebrew). Copyright 1999 by Circa Press
the seder to be: interesting, thought- •
of New York.
provoking, delicious!
Filled with cartoons, activities (the
You loved the movie, now read the
search-and-finds are especially terrific)
book. Interspersed with song lyrics
and great questions ("Why do you
from the film, this Haggadah contains
think God didn't kill the firstborn of
the traditional text (note: this was
the Egyptians right away?"), this
published in conjunction with NCSY,
Haggadah fills a long neglected gap in
the National Conference of Synagogue
Haggadah publishing: material for the
Youth, so there's no need to worry
9-13-year-old crowd.
whether the material is accurate;
Let's be honest: no matter how
unlike the movie, God is everywhere
"mature" or brilliant they are, this
in this version).
group still includes many who aren't
Family Passover Haggadah is filled
ready for a regular Haggadah, but who
with
illustrations from the movie, pro-
certainly don't need something appro-
duced by Steven Spielberg's
priate for little children.
Dreamworks company, and they're
Best of all, this text (which, despite
great. Wait until you see the frogs
the art and levity, includes a tradition-
crawling, en masse, up stairs, and the
al rendition of the seder) is funny!
sky filling with a blood-red swarm of
One illustration features a family get-
locusts. It's positively creepy, as well it
ting ready for the holiday with their
Mean, Clean Machine, and a company should be.
whose truck bears the logo, "We Clean
Let's Ask Four Questions (in English),
Chametz Right."
with illustrations by Nicole in den
It's for kids, of course, but you
Bosch. -Copyright 2000 by Kar-Ben
might want one for everyone in the
Copies.
family.
Uncle Eli's Passover Haggadah:
Special-for-Kids, Most Fun Ever,
Under-the-Table Passover Haggadah
(in English), by Eliezer Lorne Segal,
illustrations by Bonnie Gordon-Lucas.
Copyright 1999 by No-Starch Press.
All your favorite parts of the seder are
here, just not in a format with which
you might be familiar.
Learn all about the afikoman, for
example, from the afikoman itself:
Do you know who I am?
Have you heard of my name?
Once you have met me,
you won't be the same
I show up each year
towards the end of the Seder.
My eyes see like telescopes,
my ears have radar.
It's a story, parts of the Haggadah
This is a nice, small (10 pages) book
for tiny children. It simply answers the
four questions — in a sentence or less
— accompanied by fun illustrations of
family and friends (like a sheep hold-
ing a Haggadah). Short and sweet.
Why On This Night? Passover
Haggadah for Family Celebration (in
English and Hebrew) by Rahel
Musleah, illustrations by Louise August.
Copyright 2000 by Simon 6- Schuster.
.
This is a beautiful book, with lush,
stained-glass-like illustrations.
And just reading Ms. Musleah's
descriptions of the shulchan orekh (the
main meal) is enough to actually make
you hungry for Pesach foods: "golden
chicken soup and fluffy matzah balls;
roasted chicken, spicy vegetable stews,
and crisp cold salads."
Why On This Night? is both a
Haggadah and an informational pack-
et on how to prepare for Pesach, from
cleaning to making family projects to
cooking different kinds of charoset.
The Haggadah also provides ques-
tions that encourage discussion and
that children will enjoy: "Why did
God need a strong hand and an out-
stretched arm [to bring us out of
Egypt]? Wasn't a strong hand enough,
the strong hand of a fighter who could
battle the Egyptians?"
Best of all, this book has the ability
to help us imagine that we really were
in Egypt, which is, after all, the focus
of the seder.
In the Avadim Hayinu (We Were
Slaves) section, for example, you will
read:
Do you remember when God rescued us?
We were afraid to leave Egypt. After alL
it was our home, even though it was an
unhappy miserable home. It was mid-
night, and I remember you shivered in the
blackness outside. Then we heard God call
"Don't be afraid"
To me it felt like a powerful hand
reached out through the darkness, took
hold of our hands, and guided us to safety.
The Seder Activity Book (in English)
by Judy Dick. Copyright 2001 by Union
of American Hebrew Congregations
(UAHC) Press.
As you prepare for the holiday, give a
copy of this activity book to your
child and she will be entertained for
hours. Then have her bring it to the
Pesach table and you will be enter-
tained for hours as you see your
child's answers to the questions Ms.
Dick asks.
There are word jumbles, places for
children to design a Haggadah cover,
dot-to-dots, Hebrew word searches
and opportunities to test your
knowledge ("YACHATZ: The seder
it
and
leader takes the
into two pieces.")
Hey — this is fun! Maybe next
year Ms. Dick will design a seder
TRUE TALES OF PESACH on page 82