Workitu's Passover

by Ben Hagai, Zahava Goshen, Eden Spivak (Illustrator)

Overview

“The illustrations throughout this meaningful story perfectly complement the text and are full of emotional appeal that young ones will favor.” — Portland Book Review

It is another day at Workitu’s village. As usual, she is awoken by the morning sounds of the village. However, for Workitu, something doesn’t feel right. She knows that today, ahead of the Passover celebrations, she will have to break all of the crockery she had become so used to, including her favourite cup, the one she made all by herself. She can’t help but feel that she will be losing something valuable and meaningful to her.

Then, an incident makes her drop the cup she was holding on to the ground, breaking it into pieces. Workitu begins to cry, but then her auntie shares a secret she learned a long time ago, and Workitu is finally able to see this tradition in a new light: “It’s good to break things sometimes. To let go of old things . . . I break, and then I make. All with the same hands.”

With beautiful illustrations throughout, this is a meaningful tale about the importance of letting go of the old to make space for the new, and how family traditions are passed on through generations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784388997
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	04/14/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Maayan Ben Hagai was born in Kibbutz Degania Bet in 1970. She is a social worker and owns a bookstore in a mobile truck, Astronautit, which she takes to various communities on the weekends. She has published two novels, short stories and a book for youth, Gudai, which she wrote with Zahava Goshen. She lives in Jerusalem with her three daughters.

In 2016, Maayan received the Minister of Education's Award for Children's Literature for Gudai.

Zahava Goshen was born in Ethiopia in 1976. She made Aliya to Israel in 1984. She works at the welfare department and is a graduate with a major in education and parental guidance. Zahava lives in Beit Shemesh with her family.

In 2016, Zahava received the Minister of Education's Award for Children's Literature for Gudai.

Eden Spivak is a children’s book and editorial illustrator, with a BA in visual communication from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem. She is also a design writer and editor. She enjoys working at the intersection of text and image, putting visual concepts into words, and dreaming up imagery to accompany written text.

Editorial Reviews

"In this touching, folk-like tale, Workitu, a young Ethiopian Jewish girl, discovers that her family’s Passover ritual of smashing their hand-made clay dishes, including her favorite cup, is a meaningful tradition of transforming the old into something new. Eden Spivak’s illustrations depict the warmth of rural village life.."

Jewish Press of Tampa Bay - Penny Schwartz

"This fantastic new book tells the tale of a young girl as she prepares for Passover in her small Jewish community in Ethiopia. This story centers on the themes of tradition and the importance of family, renewal, and of remaking the old into the new. Workitu is upset because it is the custom in her village to break all the clay dishware every year and make new dishes. She does not want to give up her favorite dishes that her mother made. It is only when she helps her aunt make new ones, that she learns the old dishes are ground to powder and mixed into the clay for the new dishes. Then she can appreciate that in remaking the dishes, they are handed down through the generations and all her family are honored. Readers will appreciate this diverse Jewish representation."

story.book.lady (Instagram)

"We must break old things to make room for the new. We break, but then we make again. Both with the same hands. Workitu’s Passover, written by Zahava Workitu Goshen and @maayanbenhagai, published by @green_bean_books is a GORGEOUS story of intergenerational connection, loss, rebirth, and tradition. Centered in Workitu’s own memories of her Ethiopian Jewish village, we learn about Beta Israel’s traditions to break and reshape their clay kitchenware and weave new clothes for Passover - but this story is so much more than that, filled with heartfelt emotion and familial love."

DiverseJewishBooks (Instagram)

"Workitu’s Passover is a charming story that exposes children to a Jewish community and custom that is probably unfamiliar to them. Workitu is a fully realized character, as are her enthusiastic little sister and loving wise aunt. The conflict in the story, while the details are specific to this culture, is a universal one. Most children will be able to empathize with how hard it can be to give up old familiar things, especially when they’re cherished… This title is highly recommended for purchase for homes, schools, and libraries."

Association of Jewish Libraries - Hillary Zana

"Which of us hasn’t smashed a bowl or two in changing over our chametz and non-chametz crockery for Passover? In Zahava Workitu Goshen’s childhood in Ethiopia, it was the practice to smash every chametz vessel in the home – and then grind down the clay, mix it with new and use it to shape fresh vessels for Pesach, which would be deemed free of chametz. This breaking and re-making is now the focus of a memorable picture book, co-written by Goshen and Maayan Ben Hagai, illustrated by Eden Spivak and translated by Jessica Bonn."

The Jewish Chronicle - Angela Kiverstein

The illustrations throughout this meaningful story perfectly complement the text and are full of emotional appeal that young ones will favor.

Portland Book Review