The Not-Quite-Perfect Passover

by Laura Gehl, Olga Ivanov (Illustrator), Aleksey Ivanov (Illustrator)

Overview

This is one Passover Ruby and her family won't forget!

Ruby and her family are hosting the first Passover seder in their family this year. Ruby wants everything to be perfect. But when nothing goes as planned, can Ruby find a way to still enjoy the holiday?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807571699
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	01/26/2023
Series:	Ruby Celebrates!
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	283,825
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Laura Gehl is the author of more than thirty picture books, board books, and early readers, including Delivery Bear and Always Looking Up: Nancy Grace Roman, Astronomer. She lives with her husband, four children, and large stash of dark chocolate in Chevy Chase, MD. Visit Laura online at LauraGehl.com.

Olga and Aleksey Ivanov are a team of children’s book illustrators who have collaborated on more than one hundred books using an unusual approach wherein both artists conceive, sketch, design, and paint. They work and live with two dogs in their studio in Evergreen, Colorado.

Olga and Aleksey Ivanov are a team of children’s book illustrators who have collaborated on more than one hundred books using an unusual approach wherein both artists conceive, sketch, design, and paint. They work and live with two dogs in their studio in Evergreen, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

"Not-quite-perfect surprises occur—and everyone loves them!"—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2022-12-24
Things don’t go as expected at an eagerly anticipated seder.

Dad has good and bad news for Ruby. The good: Their family will host the first seder this year. The bad: Their family will host the first seder. Why is this bad news? Bubbe broke her leg, and hosting is a lot of work. But Ruby can’t wait to start. All must be perfect for Bubbe. But little brother Benny messes everything up in his efforts to help—it’s his fault the seder won’t be perfect, Ruby moans. At one point, Dad points out Ruby’s own mistakes, making her even more upset. But eventually, everything gets done, Benny is assigned a doable task to perform at the seder, and the guests arrive. But what’s this? Not-quite-perfect surprises occur—and everyone loves them! Bubbe, in a leg cast, even asks Ruby to help her prepare “a not-quite-perfect seder” next year—and Ruby generously credits Benny for the seder’s nonperfect success. This lightweight, mildly humorous tale makes the clichéd point that all will work out well if you simply try your best—a good point that feels rushed in the telling. The illustrations are colorful and cheery, but characters’ faces are bland and not individualized. Dark-haired Ruby’s family seems to be a single-parent household. Ruby and most of the family members are light-skinned; a child seder guest has dark skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Not quite perfect by any means but a serviceable Passover story. (note about Passover) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews