The Great Passover Escape

by Pamela Moritz, Florence Weiser (Illustrator)

Overview

Long-suffering Chimp tries to talk his friends Ellie the Elephant and Kanga the Kangaroo out of trying to escape from the Biblical Zoo to find a Passover seder to attend, but ends up joining them in the escapade, teaching them about the Passover holiday along the way. And whose house do they turn up at for the seder? Their old friend and zookeeper, Shmulik! Droll Passover story includes lots of funny mistakes when the animals try to remember the words for Passover items and get them all wrong, needing to be corrected by Chimp. Includes back matter about Passover and the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541588981
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/01/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	138,678
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Pamela Moritz loves writing for kids, teaching kids, and (sometimes) acting like a kid. She lives in Israel, and every so often you can find her at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo admiring the elephants, kangaroos, or chimpanzees. She wonders where they might go if they really do escape.

Florence Weiser is a French illustrator currently based in beautiful, rainy Belgium. While growing up in Luxembourg, she always knew she wanted to draw and draw. She lives and works surrounded by nature, from which she gathers most of her inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

"Weiser’s playful digital illustrations have the inventive framings of mid-century art posters, while Moritz’s linguistically twisty text leads this earnest but nonsensical Passover tale that may well become the basis for many a holiday in-joke." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

02/08/2021

When Passover comes around, Ellie the elephant and Kang the kangaroo, residents of Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo, are determined to escape and see a seder for themselves. But their holiday knowledge is riddled with malapropisms: Ellie is convinced that God sent planes rather than plagues, while Kang is certain it’s plates. Fortunately, they enlist Chimp as an accomplice, who facilitates the escape and possesses a comparatively rabbinical level of Passover knowledge. And the trip is all the more joyous when they coincidentally choose the house that belongs to Zookeeper Shmulik, who, in keeping with tradition, opens his door and welcomes “all who are hungry” to join the festivities. Weiser’s playful digital illustrations have the inventive framings of mid-century art posters, while Moritz’s linguistically twisty text leads this earnest but nonsensical Passover tale that may well become the basis for many a holiday in-joke. Ages 4–9. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2021-01-13
There’s a joke that parents and teachers never get tired of.

Grown-ups think it’s endlessly funny to get simple things wrong, and that’s the one and only joke in this holiday picture book. An elephant and a kangaroo are clueless whether the Passover story they are escaping the zoo to celebrate was about “Ten Planes” or “Ten Plates,” or maybe it was “Ten Plagues,” as a chimp who knows better tells them. They spend the entire book arguing about random elements of the seder meal, which they think might be called a “party.” The long-suffering chimp provides the accurate information with each exchange. Children who aren’t familiar with the Jewish holiday may finish the book more confused than when they started. The animals, however, are beautiful, because they look delightfully unlike real animals. The elephant’s ears are white and purple curlicues shaped like hearts, and the kangaroo is a simple orange curve. The few, fleeting human beings depicted are mostly White and Jewish, although Moses’ skin has a puzzling grayish tone. The arguments about his name may be the most exhausting portion of the story. The animals call him “Morty” and “Milty.” A few pages later, the chimp finally loses all patience and says, “Don’t guess!…I’ll tell you,” and she explains the meaning of Passover foods in some detail. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.6-by-17.8-inch double-page spreads viewed at 59.4% of actual size.)

When even the characters are tired of the book, it might be a warning sign. (endnotes) (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews