Chil­dren’s

Is It Sukkot Yet?

Chris Barash; Alessan­dra Psacharop­u­lo, illus.
  • Review
By – March 27, 2017

This love­ly illus­trat­ed book inspires a poem: Every sea­son wears its colors/​Spring’s greens emerge gen­tly, peep­ing forth from ten­der branch­es /​Summer bursts through in pinks and yel­lows, and leaves turn bril­liant green. / Fall adver­tis­es its arrival with tawny rust when Sukkot approach­es, /​Leaves of crim­son, brit­tle as paper are splashed with gold. / Trees yield their nuts to squir­rels who secrete them so no one else sees. 

And … here come the chil­dren, pump­kins towed in their wag­on. /​Fall descend­ing; evenings cool. /​Build the sukkah, our home in the fields! /​Nestle in your arms, the Four Species.” / Hail the col­ors of autumn; it is Sukkot! 

Paper loops of orange and gold float over our heads while we sleep under the stars, shield­ed by woven leaves. 

This is the most per­fect pic­ture book for Sukkot. It is styled for chil­dren; sim­ple but suit­able for ages 3 to 83. It is per­fect for chil­dren and it feels like a sec­ond child­hood for adults who share it with them.

Mar­cia W. Pos­ner, Ph.D., of the Holo­caust Memo­r­i­al and Tol­er­ance Cen­ter of Nas­sau Coun­ty, is the library and pro­gram direc­tor. An author and play­wright her­self, she loves review­ing for JBW and read­ing all the oth­er reviews and arti­cles in this mar­velous periodical.

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