Review: Rising
Rising by Sidura Ludwig, illustrated by Sophia Vincent Guy Candlewick Press, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili Buy at Bookshop.org Replete with similes, metaphors, one-word line breaks, and beautiful imagery, Sidura Ludwig's Rising is picture book poetry at its finest. Told in the first person from the perspective of the child narrator, the reader is invited along as she bakes challah with Ima (who is expecting). Shabbat dinner is held in a beautiful outdoor setting in the backyard, complete with guests. The story ends on a joyful note with newborn baby in Ima's arms and the protagonist handing the challah bowl to Abba who is donning the apron. Complementing the flowing text, Sophia Vincent Guy's gorgeous illustrations are warm and soft, evoking in each spread the calming feeling that Shabbat brings into a home. Back matter includes a glossary of eight Hebrew words; kudos for the accurate definition of Shabbat in terms of when it...