Review: Something New for Rosh Hashanah
Something New for Rosh Hashanah
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Christine Battuz
Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group)
Category: Picture Books
Reviewer: Bridget Hodder
Author Jane Yolen delivers again, this time in a charming picture book
that sets up a sing-song rhythm as it encourages kids to start the new
year right on Rosh Hashanah. Big, vibrant images of the red-haired main
character Rebecca and her feline sidekick will capture the attention of
little ones.
Rebecca, like many pre-schoolers, has a problem with trying anything
new. In fact, her taste is so limited that she refuses to eat anything
green or anything that seems like meat. Kids will identify with
Rebecca's choosiness, which brings to mind Russell Hoban's classic
"Bread and Jam for Frances." (In fact, this book may be a great choice
for reading with kids on the autism spectrum who have limited food
choices due to sensory issues.)
By example, Rebecca's parents demonstrate for her that trying new things
is essential to this holiday season (though kids might be somewhat
confused by an illustration depicting the father retaining the mustache
he had decided to shave off on an earlier page). The climactic
breakthrough comes when at the Rosh Hashanah table of traditional foods,
Rebecca decides on her own to try a single green bean. Young ones will
understand how something small, like a green bean, can grow into
something very big as time goes by!
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