Asteroid Goldberg: Passover in Outer Space

by Brianna Caplan Sayres, Merrill Rainey (Illustrator)

Overview

An out-of-this-word Passover fantasy!

When Asteroid Goldberg and her parents get stuck in outer space for Passover, Asteroid plans a Passover seder for herself and her family that is truly out-of-this-world! With Jupiter’s moons for matzoh balls and the Big Dipper for a ladle, you’ve never seen a Passover seder like this one. A celebration of Jewish creativity and mighty Jewish girls!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951365004
Publisher:	Intergalactic Afikoman
Publication date:	02/11/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	709,930
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Brianna Caplan Sayres would love to spend Passover in outer space, but for now, she enjoys celebrating seder with her husband and their two future astronauts in her hometown, Seattle, Washington. Brianna is the author of picture books including the Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? series and Night Night, Curiosity.

Merril Rainey is a cowboy-boot-wearing, award-winning illustrator, designer, and paper engineer.  He is the creator of Color-Cut-Create! a Paper Toy Activity Book and lives in the historic town of Maumee, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

01/13/2020

Asteroid Goldberg and her family won’t be able to land their spaceship in time for Passover, and the grown-ups are clueless about what to do next. Not Asteroid: she shoots all the chametz into space and then steers the ship around the Milky Way: to Jupiter, where the moons turn out to be lighter-than-air matzo balls (luckily, the Big Dipper is really a ladle) and then to Saturn, where the rings have the satisfying crunch of matzo. Relatives gather from various planetary outposts; they drink “from a space-kiddush cup/ while zero gravity leaning,” writes Sayres, and look for the afikoman (hidden in the head of the family’s robot dog). Rainey’s redheaded protagonist and good-natured cartooning have an animation-style energy and eagerness; readers may notice that the drawings’ softly mottled textures are reminiscent of matzo itself. The lesson is clear: Passover is wherever you hang—or float—your hat. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

02/14/2020

PreS-Gr 1—Sayres tries to break new ground by setting this slight Passover story in space, but the minimal storyline and pedantic text prevent it from rising up to the stars. Asteroid Goldberg and her family are homeward bound for Passover when they are told their rocket has to wait to land. What to do? Have the Seder in space, of course! They open the fridge and hatch to let the chametz fly out into space, pick up matzoh balls from the asteroid field, matzoh from Saturn's rings, and horseradish from Jupiter's red spot. Then they have a full Seder. When they are invited to land, they end with "Next year in outer space!" If it all sounds preposterous, it is. The uninspired text is written in four-line stanzas with an ABCB rhyme scheme and scansion that doesn't always work. The cartoon-style art looks like something you would find on a children's TV show. The mostly full-bleed spreads are colorful and eye-catching, if rather busy. The mostly white cast does include one dark-skinned, curly-haired cousin. Those who know nothing about Seders will leave mostly unenlightened, although there is a glossary. However, knowledgeable readers will find most of the elements of the evening covered, if not thoroughly explained. VERDICT Jewish schools and libraries in dire need of more Passover tales for the preschool set that don't just retell the story may find a place for this. All others can pass.—Amy Lilien-Harper, Wilton Library, CT

School Library Journal