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The Four Questions

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Why is this night different from all other nights?
Every year when families gather for the Passover holiday, the youngest child poses that question as part of the poetic Four Questions near the start of the Seder. The answers are no less than the story of a people bound in slavery, their suffering in a foreign land, and their ultimate liberation – the story of Passover.
Here the Four Questions are presented in breathtakingly luminous paintings by Ori Sherman. Whimsical animals parade through a unique format that can be read straight through in English or turned upside down to focus on the delicate Hebrew calligraphy and ingenious split-frame pictures. Each side of the Seder table can see its own variation of the richly colored scenes as elephants eat matzoh, monkeys dip herbs into water, and lions recline in newfound freedom. Author Lynne Sharon Schwartz answers the questions with refreshing clarity, providing insight into the symbols and rituals of the holiday.
Experience a glorious art book, a beautiful book for the kids who find the afikomen, and a wonderful way to experience Passover and its unique celebration of freedom.
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    • School Library Journal

      March 1, 2021

      K-Gr 3-The table is set with foods not typically eaten on other nights, such as matzah, bitter herbs, and greens to dip in salt water. Why is this night different from all other nights? Because it's Passover. Typically, the youngest child at the seder will ask the four questions, but rarely are they given straight answers. In this reprint of the same 1989 title, Schwartz gives us those answers by weaving the four questions through the retelling of the Passover story, explaining the symbolism behind the seder plate, and incorporating the worthy message that although we are joyful to be free, there are those humans and animals who are yet to be. The text is complemented by sophisticated paintings of animals with human characteristics. On one page, a group of animals cry and the moon frowns remembering slavery's bitterness. Later, an elephant reclines in a chair reading a book because he is free. At first glance the animal illustrations may seem like an odd choice, but a detailed explanation follows the story describing the long history of personified animals from ancient Egypt to the 13th century Birds' Head Haggadah. VERDICT This would make a lovely companion to the traditional Haggadah and would be well-suited for libraries looking to expand their Jewish holiday collection.-Danielle Winter, Brooklyn P.L., NY

      Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • OverDrive Read
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Languages

  • English

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