Review: One Little Goat

One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe

by Dara Horn, illustrated by Theo Ellsworth

Norton Young Readers, 2025

Category: Middle Grade

Reviewer: Merle Carrus

 

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In Dara Horn’s new graphic novel, she brings her memories of family seders to middle grade and teen readers. They will definitely be able to relate to the angst of being caught at the dinner table for many hours with elderly relatives and younger cousins and siblings. Horn creates a witty, funny story about what can happen if you never find the afikoman, the dessert without which a seder cannot end. 

 

Bringing to life the goat from Chad Gadya, the song sung at the end of the seder about a father buying a goat for two zuzim, our protagonist is able to be the hero and find the missing matzah after six months of being stuck at the seder. The goat takes this “wise child” on a journey, meeting characters from many seders throughout history, from the recent past (the USSR in the 1980s, the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII) to the Inquisition, the biblical sages, and finally to the night our ancestors left Egypt. Our hero learns a lot about himself and about Jewish civilization through this journey, and returns home at last with a new appreciation for his family and his Jewish identity.

Theo Ellsworth illustrates the novel with a tangled style of drawing that captures the spiraling style of writing in this graphic novel. The black and white, pen and ink drawings depict the characters from history as the Goat and “wise child” swirl through history.

This is a very clever way to tell the Passover story and explain its importance to older children. It is a very timely story, showing how throughout history Jews have been strong and resilient, continuing their traditions even in the face of adversity. It brings home the message of how special and magical maintaining our Jewish connections can be. It clearly tells the story of Passover and gives good reasons for readers to be proud to be Jewish.

Editor's Note: This book was included on the Association of Jewish Libraries' Spring 2025 Holiday Highlights list.

 

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Reviewer Merle Eisman Carrus resides in New Hampshire and writes book reviews for the NH Jewish Reporter newspaper. and other publications. She is a graduate of Emerson College and received her Masters of Jewish Studies from Hebrew College. Merle is the National President of the Brandeis National Committee. She leads books discussion groups and author interviews. She blogs her book reviews at biteofthebookworm.blogspot.com.