Celebrated author Leslea Newman unites a young boy and a stray kitten in a warm, lyrical story about Passover, family, and friendship.
Leslea Newman has written more than seventy books and anthologies,
including the highly successful and controversial picture book
Heather Has Two Mommies. She is also the author of October
Mourning- A Song for Matthew Shepard and Sparkle Boy.
www.lesleanewman.com
Susan Gal holds a BFA from Art Center College of Design and has
illustrated several books for children, including Abracadabra, It's
Spring! and Here Is the World- A Year of Jewish Holidays.
galgirlstudio.com
♦ Simple, lyrical text describes how a contemporary Jewish family
celebrates the Passover Seder. Inside, the house is filled with
light and laughter as a young boy fills the ceremonial cup of wine
for the Prophet Elijah, dips parsley in salt water, breaks the
middle matzo, hears the story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt, and
enjoys the holiday meal. Meanwhile, a small stray kitten waits
alone in the dark for the moon to rise. When the time comes for the
boy to open the door for the Prophet Elijah, the kitten has
scampered up the walk and is waiting to be invited inside. The text
concludes: “And that’s how Elijah [the kitten] found a home.” The
luminous detailed illustrations—done in ink, charcoal, and digital
collage—use deep gold, black, and blue tones to beautifully depict
the contrast between the loving, festive atmosphere inside the
house and the dark, still night outside. Readers will delight in
finding the adorable white kitten on each spread and will notice
how the kitten’s actions outside mimic the boy’s actions inside. A
large, intergenerational and racially diverse family is warmly
depicted. An extensive author’s note is appended, providing
background information about the history and customs of the
Passover holiday along with a listing of some of the traditional
rituals of the Passover Seder. VERDICT: Anybody who has ever opened
the door for Elijah during the Passover Seder will relish this
charming, magical, and heartwarming story.
—School Library Journal (Starred Review)
♦ Just as Jewish families open their doors for the prophet Elijah,
Welcoming Elijah opens the Seder ritual and invites readers into
the festivities. This heartwarming tale of a young boy and a tiny,
stray kitten plays out entirely during the traditional meal as the
story of the Exodus is retold and celebrated.
Lesléa Newman's (Gittel's Journey) poetic text alternates between
the boy's perspective and that of the feline: "Inside, the boy
drank grape juice./ Outside, the kitten lapped at a puddle."
Inside, readers are engaged with the customs of a Jewish Seder,
like filling Elijah's cup, dipping parsley into salt water and
singing (the activities are discussed further in an author's note).
Outside, the kitten mewls and swings its "skinny tail." Susan Gal's
(Bella's Fall Coat illustrator) atmospheric illustrations reinforce
the contrasting viewpoints: the child bathed in light and
surrounded by family, the cat alone in the dark. This variance,
paired with foreshadowing in the early pages--"Tonight would be
different/ from all other nights./ The boy knew this./ The kitten
did, too"--develops an intriguingly suspenseful tone. Gal's digital
collage, charcoal and ink illustrations switch between hot and cool
palettes, creating a sense of emotional warmth. Her superb use of
line gives a fluidity to the art as well as a tactile impression of
texture--readers will likely want to cuddle the furry white kitten
with the silky pink ears. Meanwhile, anticipation builds for the
moment the parallel paths of boy and kitten veer to intersect.
Together Newman and Gal immerse their audience in the beauty and
joy of the Jewish service. This delightful, captivating Passover
narrative can be appreciated by readers of any faith.
Discover: The orbits of a Jewish boy and a stray kitten
collide during a Seder dinner in Welcoming Elijah, a picture book
Passover tale.
—Shelf Awareness (Starred Review)
". . .vibrant. . ."
—The New York Times
Passover nights are different, happily so for a boy and a
kitten.
It’s a Seder night, and a boy and his large family welcome guests
to the festive holiday celebration. There are many rituals in the
evening, including filling a cup of wine for the prophet Elisha,
but his favorite is opening the door to welcome Elijah in. Writing
in contrasting couplets, Newman relates the many elements of the
holiday as “inside” activities. There are also “outside” goings-on.
A fluffy white cat in the yard does feline things that seem to
mimic what the family and their guests are doing except in one
respect. The family enjoys plenty of good food while the kitten
“swishe[s] his skinny tail.” Finally it is time to hold open the
door, and who should be standing there but that irresistibly
appealing fluffy white kitten. Boy and kitten, to be named Elijah
of course, embrace as the others look on in joy. Gal’s softly
smudged illustrations, rendered in ink, charcoal, and digital
collage, warmly reflect the text’s contrasts, with bright yellows
illuminating the household and iridescent blues bathing the outdoor
scenes. The family and friends are racially diverse, with both
black- and white-presenting group members. The boy himself presents
white; the men wear kippot. While not the traditional holiday
outcome, it should please celebrants and cat lovers all.
—Kirkus Reviews
On Passover, inside his warm and cozy house, a boy waits
expectantly for his family’s Seder. Outdoors, a kitten waits alone
for the moon to appear. Inside, the Seder begins. The boy fills the
Cup of Elijah, a ritual that welcomes the prophet into the home.
The child listens to the Passover story and enjoys a traditional
meal, while outside the cat listens to whispering leaves and “ate
nothing at all.” Readers recognize or learn about nearly all the
steps of the Seder while getting to know the roaming feline, its
roughly parallel activities shown, split-screen-style, on every
spread. The cat’s rambles lead to the boy’s doorstep at the same
moment he opens the door for the prophet: “And that’s how Elijah
found a home.” Gal’s warmhearted illustrations, in ink, charcoal,
and digital collage, show a diverse, loving extended Jewish family.
The art is suffused with light, including golden hues, warm browns,
and midnight blues along with textured brushstrokes, subtle
patterns, dark outlines, and the whitish-gray cat. Passover-themed
details in the text (“Tonight would be different from all other
nights,” think boy and cat—a nod to the Four Questions), the
illustrations (gefilte fish advertised in a market window), and the
story’s message—let all who are hungry come and eat—will resonate
with readers; for those unfamiliar with the holiday, Newman’s
informative and personal appended author’s note provides more
detail. Waiting is a feeling with which young Seder-goers will
likely be familiar. The protagonist’s wait ends not as he expected,
but satisfyingly nonetheless.
—The Horn Book
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