Review: The Mysterious Missing Matzoh

The Mysterious Missing Matzoh

by Alan Katz, illustrated by Adam Auerbach

Harper (imprint of HarperCollins), 2025

Category: Picture Books

Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili

 

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The Mysterious Missing Matzah opens with the Cohen family – parents and four children - enjoying the Passover seder at Grandpa Murray and Grandma Norma's home. It is time to hide the afikomen and Grandpa Murray wants to find a hiding place which his grandchildren won't be able to detect. However, as he's searching for the perfect spot, he hears that the matzoh ball soup is being served (it seems that this family's practice is to begin eating the meal right after hiding the afikomen). He rejoins his family back at the table, but after the meal, the kids can't find the afikomen and Grandpa Murray doesn't remember, as he got distracted by the aforementioned soup. And so, the mystery is set in motion: where is the afikomen?

Pen and ink illustrations combine different angles and vantage points, adding both interest and a sense of mystery, while complementing the text and moving the story along. Readers familiar with Passover will recognize in the drawings all the holiday elements: the seder plate and its components, grape juice for the kids, wine for the adults, the Haggadah (with the cover written in Hebrew) and of course, matzoh. Additionally, a note about Hiding the Afikomen is included. Overall, young detectives will be introduced to the mystery genre against the Passover backdrop and will enjoy the simple, yet satisfactory, solution.

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Reviewer Reviewer Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili enjoys reading and writing mysteries. She is the author of MYSTERY AT LANDSCAPE FARM, MYSTERY AT PEASANT'S INN, MYSTERY AT NIGHTLIGHT RESORT and THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST WATCH, among other titles. Born and raised in Toronto, she is the librarian at an all-boys elementary school.