Get ready, Rabbi Rocketpower fans, the Rabbi is back in an all-new adventure. The action this time centers on Tu Bishvat. Dad has invented a time machine to show important historical events. He plans to bring it to the Tu Bishvat seder so the Rabbi can show everyone the Garden of Eden with the first tree and the first Tu Bishvat seder in the sixteenth century. But the machine is left on in the house just long enough for Purr the cat to relax on the keyboard. She taps a key and a shriveled piece of fruit dating back to the Garden of Eden pops out. Dubbed Tooty Fruity by Purr, the fruit jumps into a bowl of raisins to hide from the hungry cat. Soon the family is off to the synagogue. When Rabbi Mensch’s tummy starts to growl, her son Aaron scoops up the biggest raisin he can find, and the Rabbi tosses Tooty-Fruity into her mouth. It lodges itself in her sinuses and, being very ecologically-minded, starts yelling out messages like SV TH TRS, BY N ELCTRC CR and GT ME BCK TO THE GRDN BFR IT’S TOO LT throughout the Tu Bishvat seder. Dad explains that if something from the past is changed in the present, even the disappearance of an old, wrinkly apple core from the Garden of Eden, the whole world will be destroyed. The clock is ticking. They have only thirty minutes to get Tooty Fruity out of Rabbi Mensch’s head, through the time machine and back into the Garden of Eden.
This Rabbi Rocketpower story, like the ones before, is filled with humor. The chapter titles alone are hysterical: “Tu Bish What?” and “Ah… Ah… Ah Choo Bishvat” to list a few. The book includes a recipe, a glossary of the Jewish terms, and even a special “glssry” of Tooty Fruity words. The underlying message in Rabbi Rocketpower in a Tooty-Fruity Tale for Tu Bishvat is powerful and clear: SV NTR* AND SV TH RTH! Recommended for ages 7 – 10.
*nature
Marcia Berneger is a retired teacher who lives with her husband and three crazy dogs. She taught both first and second grade, as well as special education. She currently teaches Torah school, in addition to her volunteer work in classrooms, libraries, and with various fundraisers. She lives in San Diego.