APRIL 7 • 2022 | 33
PASSOVER
A Persian Passover
By Etan Basseri, Illustrated
by Rashin Kheiriyeh
Kalaniot Books, $19.99
“Many years ago, in a small
town in Iran,” the book
begins. The story is about sib-
lings Ezra and Roza, who are
helping their parents prepare
for the seder. The traditional
cleaning is underway, the
ingredients for hallaq — the
Persian version of charoset,
made from dates, raisins and
nuts — are assembled, and
the children are charged with
taking the family’s sack of
flour to the synagogue’s com-
munity oven, where teams
of bakers transform it into
matzah.
A disaster occurs on the
way home, but the duo’s mis-
adventures ultimately provide
an opportunity to invite a
lonely neighbor to their seder.
Passover, Here I Come
By D.J. Steinberg, Illustrated
by Emanuel Wiemans
Grosset & Dunlap, $5.99
Celebrate Passover with a col-
lection of funny and festive
poems from the author of the
hugely popular Kindergarten,
Here I Come!
The seder plate is set and the
pantry’s filled with matzah
— Passover is here! Author
D. J. Steinberg is back with
an all-new collection of
poems celebrating the joys
of Passover, from singing the
Four Questions to finding the
Afikomen.
The book includes a sheet
of stickers for extra holiday
fun.
The Melody
By Oded Burla, Assaf
Benharroch (Illustrator)
Ilana Kurshan (Translator)
Kalaniot Books, $19.99
The Melody, written by Oded
Brula, an Israeli writer and
poet who is considered
among the founders of chil-
dren’s literature in Hebrew, at
first seems a simple tale of a
melody in search of a home.
In this translation, the mel-
ody asks mountains, rivers
and stones, crows and moles
to listen to it before finally
finding a mother, who hums
the melody for her child.
Look closer at this story,
and you will find Jewish con-
nections to God offering the
Torah to the Jewish people.
According to a 2,000-year-
old commentary, God offers
the Torah to all the people of
the ancient world, but none
accept it until it is presented
it to the Jewish people on
Mount Sinai.
Three new books to help celebrate the holiday
with your little ones.
New Story Books
for Passover
JN STAFF
A
re you ready to add some new holiday books to your current lineup of bedtime stories
for your 4-to-8-year-olds? Here are three charming books to consider this year. All are
available at amazon.com.
Jewish Fund Grants
Bring Dental Health
to Metro Detroit’s
Needy
The word “dentures” may conjure
up cartoon images of teeth soaking
in a glass of water or a punch line
from a corny joke. But to many of
Metro Detroit’s uninsured poor,
their need for dentures is no laugh-
ing matter, but a critical health issue.
Thanks to grants from the Jewish
Fund and the Jewish Fund Teen
Board, 75 patients of the Malta
Dental and Medical Clinic in
Detroit are getting their dentures —
and with them, a new lease on life.
“We can change someone’s life
with a set of properly-fitting den-
tures,
” said Nancy Harmon, the
clinic’s dental director. “Health,
social life, employability — just
about every marker of well-being
improves dramatically. Patients
come to the clinic too ashamed to
even open their mouths, and they
walk out beaming with a new smile.
”
The grants, which total $25,000,
make it possible for the Malta Clinic
to provide dentures without cost
to patients. The cost of dentures —
anywhere from several hundred to
several thousand dollars — poses
an insurmountable barrier to the
uninsured poor, explained Thomas
Larabell, president of the Malta
Clinic board of directors.
“It’s a time-consuming and
expensive process to make dentures
that fit well,
” Larabell noted. “We are
so grateful to the Jewish Fund board
of directors and Teen Board for
helping us meet this critical health
need.
”