Picture-book Passover

The word “Seder” means “order.” And, while there is not a children’s book for every step of the Seder, it’s close! So, if the Haggadah is a bit much for your little ones–and there are some child-friendly Haggadahs out there–maybe a stack of picture books can supplement; the numbers after each book mentioned below are the suggested age range for its readers.

The first steps of the Seder are the opening blessing over the wine, the leader washing their hands, and the dipping of the karpas in saltwater. No karpas books that I saw…

But next, we deal with the matzah for the first time, breaking one piece and hiding half of it. We see the steps in the matzoh’s creation in The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah (Leslie Kimmelman and Paul Meisel), a twist on the fable in which the hen gets no help making food, yet everyone shows up to eat it–some parents can relate (7-10). The Mouse in the Matzah Factory (Francine Medoff and Nicole in den Bosch) follows the more common mass production of matzoh (3-9).

The main part of the Seder– aside from dinner– is the telling of the Exodus story, told simply in The Story of Passover (David A. Adler and Jill Weber), (4-8). A more dramatic version is found in The Longest Night (Laurel Snyder and Catia Chien) (4-8).

Right at the beginning of this passage come The Four Questions, asked by the youngest who can. The Littlest Levine (Sandy Lanton and Claire Keay), can help your newly minted public speaker rehearse for their center-stage moment (3-8).

The telling of the story proceeds until the Ten Plagues told in the rhyming Let My People Go! (Tilda Balsley and Ilene Richard) (5-9). A more serious tone is offered in The Ten Plagues , (Sara Hartman and Terri Murphy) (8-12).

A story missing from the Seder, but worth telling, is that of the first, brave person to wade into the Red Sea, even before it split– Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim (Deborah Bodin Cohen and Jago (3-8).

Then, we sing! Dayenu! A Favorite Passover Song (Miriam Latimer) (3-5), combines the festive cheer of the song with a recounting of Exodus’ miracles. The song’s message of gratitude is expressed in More Than Enough (April Halprin Wayland Katie Kath) (3-5).

The basic symbols of the Seder are broken down next: The Passover Sacrifice, the Bitter Herb, and the Matzah. The first two are represented on the Seder plate, which is explained in Pippa’s Passover Plate (Vivian Kirkfield and Jill Weber) (4-8).

The story now told, we make a Hamotzi on the matzah. Two more books about it, for littler kids (1-4), are the rhyming Lotsa Matzah (Tilda Balsley and Akemi Gutierrez) and I Love Matzah (Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili and Angelika Scudamore).

After the meal comes many kids’ favorite: the afikomen ! You can accompany the search by singing Afikomen Mambo (Rabbi Joe Black and Linda Prater) (1-4). Older kids may like solving the afikomen clues of Passover Scavenger Hunt (Shanna Silva and Miki Sakamoto) (4-9).

Then, the door is opened for Elijah the Prophet. In Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail (Leslea Newman and Susan Gal), a family opens their door to find a different kind of visitor (5-8).

Alongside Elijah’s Cup, many families have a Miriam’s Cup, and her story is retold in Miriam at the River (Jane Yolen and Khoa Le) (5-9).

The rest of the Seder is sung. The final song, about the goat, is depicted in Had Gayda (Seymour Chwast and Michael Strassfeld) (6-10).

The Seder is long, and children’s attention spans tend not to be. For some who get fidgety, one hands-on, yet stay-at-the-table option is the Ultimate Sticker Book: Passover (DK Publishing). Its 60 stickers should occupy them for… at least 60 seconds.

More titles to introduce Passover to your little ones:

My First Passover , by Tomie dePaola (1-3)

A Touch of Passover (A Touch and Feel Book ), by Ari Sollish and by Boruch Becker (1-3)

Passover is Coming! , by Tracy Newman and Viviana Garofoli (1-4)

Alligator Seder , by Jessica Hickman and Elissambura (1-4).

Company’s Coming: A Passover Lift-the-Flap Book , by Joan Holub and Renee Andriani (2-5)

The Passover Mouse by Joy Nelkin Wieder [no relation] and Shahar Kober (3-7)

Izzy the Whiz and Passover McClean , by Yael Mermelstein and Carrie Hartman (3-8)

Frogs in the Bed: My Passover Activity Book , by Ann D. Koffsky (4-8)

Is It Passover Yet? by Chris Barash and Alessandra Psacharopulo (4-8).