Matzah Craze

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 8 FEB 2021

Any school-age Jewish kid who observes Passover understands the lunchroom situation in which redheaded, freckled Noa finds herself. She can't make any food trades due to Passover dietary rules, and when she opens her lunch box, her tablemates see a large crackerlike food: "All week long, I don't eat bread./ Matzah's what I eat instead." Noa tells her friends the story of Passover, and for the rest of the week, she brings in a different matzah treat to share with her now-enthralled classmates. Kiffel-Alcheh's couplet text gets a little wearing, and it's hard to believe that all of Noa's pals think that plain matzah is the greatest thing since, well, sliced bread (" ‘Mmm,' her friends say as they munch./ ‘Matzah has a tasty crunch!' "). But Gallegos's peppy, animationlike illustrations feel true enough to school life, depicting an inclusive student body eager to learn—and to nosh. Ages 4–9.