PreS-Gr 2-Sara and her grandmother are making challah. When the child accidentally adds too much yeast to the dough, it grows to enormous proportions and begins spreading throughout the neighborhood, much like the movie The Blob. After they call the police-who laugh-Sara solves the problem by writing a note inviting all of the neighbors to bake the dough. Then she and her grandmother follow suit. The story is mildly entertaining, with lots of Yiddish terms and expressions tossed in. Grandma repeats the titular phrase every time something goes wrong. The text ends with a recipe for challah. The brightly colored, mixed-media illustrations are a bit blurred around the edges, and the splotchy color used for the characters' skin is rather off-putting, as are, at times, their faces. The depiction of a hip, motor-scooter-riding Grandma who uses a computer and bakes is certainly welcome. However, the lengthy text and overly purposeful use of Yiddish detract from the overall success of the book. Libraries with a great need for more humorous titles with Jewish characters may find a place for this slight offering, but most others can pass.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
On a summer's Friday, Grandma and her granddaughter bake a challah, and while waiting for the dough to rise, go outside to play badminton. Grandma is none too good at this, so next they find an old horror movie, The Blob, to watch. Horror of horrors, they are overwhelmed by a massive blob of challah dough because granddaughter Sara put in way too much yeast. She saves the day by printing out flyers offering challah dough to the neighborhood. All in all, this is a very ordinary offering that does not rise to the level of usefulness in collections. Though Grandma peppers her language with a few Yiddish words that are translated in a glossary, her language is rooted in an earlier generation and the literary reference to Strega Nona is unworthy of the wonderful original. As the title says, this is not worth making a fuss over. (Includes a recipe for Challah a l'Orange) (Picture book. 4-7)
