Review: Have You Ever Zeen a Ziz?
Have You Ever Zeen a Ziz? by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Kyle Reed
Category: Picture BooksReviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili
Reminiscent of the style of a Dr. Seuss story, Have You Ever Zeen a Ziz? is about the ziz, a mythological big bird that is referred to in ancient Jewish writings.
Reed’s whimsical and colorful artwork that gives the book a fantasy world feel. The reader learns how a ziz looks and behaves, during the day and at night. Written in rhyming verse, the vocabulary is both simple (hat / cat / bat) and more advanced (prehistoric / absurd / creation / lofty). There are also several Seussian words in the book; in this story, real words are replaced by made-up rhyming words beginning with the letter ‘z’ (zis instead of this, zat instead of that, zings instead of sings, zee instead of see). This use of the ‘z’ sound will appeal to younger children, especially when the book is read aloud. Additionally, some of the words are written in bigger fonts and some in all capital letters, while one word is made to s-t-r-e-e-e-tch out, all visual techniques which contribute to the playfulness of the story. The word shluffy is also used in the verses describing how a ziz sleeps, so that even non-Yiddish speaking readers will understand its meaning.
The Author’s Note at the end of the book describes what is little factual information is known about the ziz, based on Elovitz Marshall’s research. She explains that the ziz has its origins in Jewish tradition, references the Psalms in which the ziz appears, and mentions the name of one of the books she used to do her research. Have You Ever Zeen a Ziz? is about a Jewish topic per se, but this story about a big bird can appeal to children of all backgrounds. Dr. Seuss introduced children to the Goo-Goose bird. Now children can also read about the Ziz.
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