Passover Scavenger Hunt

by Shanna Silva, Miki Sakamoto (Illustrator)

Overview

Rachel's uncle is terrible at hiding the afikomen. It's always too easy to find! So this year, Rachel decides to take over. She finds the perfect hiding spot and creates a series of clues for her cousins to follow. Can you guess where the hunt will lead them?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467794220
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2017
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shanna Silver is an author, freelance writer, and producer. She is a graduate of New York University with a BA in Psychology and is a contributor to the Jewish parenting blog Kveller. She is also a Broadway producer with two Tony® nominations for The Visit (2015) and Leap of Faith (2012). This is her first children's book. She lives in Bellmore, New York.

Miki Sakamoto studied fine arts and illustration at California State University in Long Beach. She is the illustrator of several picture books for children. She and her husband Kevin and energetic four-legged fur ball Bella live in California.

Editorial Reviews

"Rachel’s Great-Uncle Harry usually hides the afikomen — a piece of matzah broken in half and placed in a napkin, then hidden for kids to find — at her family’s Passover Seder. But this year, she decides she will hide it. She adds a twist — a scavenger hunt. Each of the clues she creates contains a riddle relating to the holiday; when each riddle is solved, she hands out a puzzle piece. The first clue reads 'Karpas is parsley, fresh and green./Find Clue Number Two/Where green is the scene.' Her relatives search for the clues, until they find the sixth one and can assemble the puzzle pieces, which form a Seder plate. Images of a close-knit extended family, with smiling youngsters and playful adult-child interactions, impart a joyous atmosphere."—The Washington Post

From the Publisher

01/23/2017
Silva makes her children’s book debut with the warmhearted story of a family’s Passover seder, during which one of the young cousins, Rachel, gets fed up with how bad her Great-Uncle Harry is at hiding the afikomen. Taking the initiative, Rachel organizes a scavenger hunt for her cousins, featuring rhyming clues built around the ingredients on a seder plate (“The shankbone reminds us/ of when the Jews fled./ Find Clue Number Four/ Where Frank rests his head”). Sakamoto’s (Let’s Build) genial cartoons send Rachel and her cousins all over Great-Uncle Harry’s house, quietly emphasizing the closeness among the older and younger members of the family. It’s a no-stress, no-conflict portrait of a Passover celebration that emphasizes ingenuity and the creation of new traditions to accompany the old. Ages 4–9. Illustrator’s agency: Shannon Associates. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2017-01-17
Enjoy a new way to hide and hunt for the afikoman at the Passover Seder.Traditions are an integral part of every family Passover Seder, but for Rachel the hunt for the afikoman has gotten boring. Her great-uncle Harry, who leads the Seder, uses the same three hiding places, and the children know exactly where to look. (The afikoman, the middle board of matzo, is usually hidden by the adult conducting the Seder, found by the children after an adventurous hunt, and redeemed for a present.) Rachel decides that this year she will hold a scavenger hunt to add to the fun. She assembles her art supplies and hands out the first clue, a piece from a jigsaw puzzle. This clue, written in verse, provides a hint to where to find the following clue and is also a reference to a food on the Seder plate. There's some confusion, much laughter, and finally success as the puzzle is assembled: it's a Seder plate, and the missing matzo is uncovered underneath the actual Seder plate on the table. Silva's story is humorous, and children familiar with the holiday will enjoy solving the clues. Sakamoto's people are round-faced and white, with cartoon eyes, blush-red cheeks, and big smiles. This may help families develop a new and fun-filled addition to their Seder traditions. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews