Chil­dren’s

Uncle Eli’s Wedding

Tra­cy New­man, Ser­nur Isik, illus.
  • Review
By – December 9, 2015

Every­one is excit­ed about Uncle Eli’s wed­ding — except for his nephew, Daniel. The wed­ding has already inter­fered with Daniel’s soc­cer game, and he’s wor­ried that after his favorite uncle mar­ries Lilah, he won’t have time for him any­more. Daniel has been promised some­thing spe­cial to do at the wed­ding, so he is dis­ap­point­ed that he isn’t allowed to sign the ketubah or hold the chup­pah poles. But when it comes time to smash the glass at the end of the cer­e­mo­ny, Uncle Eli doesn’t seem able to do it. He asks for Daniel’s help and, hold­ing hands, they stomp on the glass togeth­er. The sim­ply drawn car­toon-like illus­tra­tions and cheery palette are a nice match for the brief and rhythmic

text. There is also a note from the author defin­ing many key words often heard at Jew­ish wed­dings. Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 4 – 9.

Susan Kan­tor was a senior writer/​editor for Girl Scouts of the USA, a chil­dren’s book edi­tor, and a past judge for the Nation­al Jew­ish Book Awards in the illus­trat­ed children’s book cat­e­go­ry. She is a writer and a docent at the Rubin Muse­um in New York City, where she leads pub­lic and pri­vate tours.

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