Is It Sukkot Yet?

June 13, 2016
The duo behind Is It Passover Yet? and Is It Hanukkah Yet? returns with a third seasonally oriented exploration of a Jewish holiday, using cues like leaves turning orange and squirrels gathering food for winter to signal that “Sukkot is on its way.” Work and play are twin themes in Barash’s tender verse and Psacharopulo’s gauzy-textured cartoons; scenes of playing hide-and-seek in an autumn forest give way to ones that focus on the assembly of the sukkah (“When the toolbox comes out/ and the hammers bang hard/ As we put up the hut that will stand in our yard.../ Sukkot is on its way”). Barash incorporates references to a few details of the celebration (“When our guests smell the etrog’s bright lemony zest”) that Sukkot newbies might need explained to them, but the bucolic setting and the palpable excitement of the final pages, which build to an outdoor sleepover in the sukkah “with moonbeams for light,” create a powerful sense of anticipation that should easily leave readers looking forward to their own families’ festivities. Ages 4–8.

July 15, 2016
Autumnal signs of leaves changing, squirrels foraging and hiding acorns, and cool breezes blowing announce another Jewish fall tradition: the harvest holiday of Sukkot. Pleasant child-friendly paintings of autumn scenes in hues of orange, yellow, and brown illustrate the simple rhyming text with its repeated, anticipatory refrain "When leaves are all turning bright orange and red // and it's time for the rakes to come out of our shed... / Sukkot is on its way." As in the previous books in the series, Is It Passover Yet? and Is it Hanukkah Yet? (both 2015), Barash and Psacharopulo create the proper seasonal atmosphere to build enthusiasm and excitement for the upcoming celebration, focusing on the annual construction of the customary hut, or sukkah. Key aspects of the sukkah's decorations and its special components, such as the natural, green branches for the open roof, the lemony-smelling etrog fruit, and the lulav branch, are mentioned without much explanation. The custom of having meals in the hut is not fully portrayed, though readers see the children sleeping on pillows and blankets in the sukkah while parents look on from the house--an odd choice. The focal family is pale-skinned, and they are joined by dark-skinned friends or family. A suitable introduction for young children to the holiday. (Picture book. 3-5)

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November 1, 2016

PreS-K-"When leaves are all turning/bright orange and red/And it's time for the rakes to/come out of our shed.../Sukkot is on its way." Charming, warm illustrations depict a contemporary, rosy-cheeked family, along with their friends and neighbors (and their adorable furry and feathered friends), in an idyllic rural setting, getting ready for the Jewish harvest holiday. The refrain, "Sukkot is on its way" is repeated as everybody pitches in to build and decorate the sukkah, the temporary hut that Jewish families erect for the weeklong holiday. But when the sukkah is complete, the refrain changes: "When the sunlight's grown dim as it quickly turns night/And we're snug in our sukkah/with moonbeams for light.../Sukkot is here!" The final spread portrays two children sleeping peacefully outside in the sukkah while the grown-ups watch from the house. The lulav and etrog, important symbols of the holiday, make an appearance, but a festive holiday meal, prayers, and other traditional customs are absent. VERDICT Without any background information, this title is clearly intended for those who celebrate Sukkot, and they will certainly welcome this lovely, poetic addition that's perfect for sharing aloud.-Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL

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