The Passover Mouse

by Joy Nelkin Wieder, Shahar Kober (Illustrator)

Overview

In this charming and witty Passover story about kindness, community, tradition, and forgiveness, a little mouse disrupts a town's preparations for the holiday when it steals a piece of leavened bread—or chometz—just as all the houses have been swept clean in time for the holiday.

It's the morning before the start of Passover, and all the villagers have swept their homes clean of leavened bread, in keeping with the traditions of the holiday. Suddenly, a small mouse steals a piece of bread and tears through the town, spoiling everyone's hard work. But just when it seems as if the townsfolk will never be ready for their Seder, the little mouse's actions unwittingly bring everyone together, to work as a group to save the holiday.

Jewish families at Passover will embrace this rollicking, funny, and ultimately inspiring story—based on an original tale from the Talmud—that weaves together the themes of community, kindness, charity, and forgiveness. It's sure to become a modern holiday classic that's shared year after year among the generations.

An afterword discusses the story from the Talmud that the author used as her inspiration and includes a glossary of terms that will be useful to young readers.

★ "An excellent addition to the Jewish tradition."—Kirkus, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781984895516
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	633,265
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

JOY NELKIN WIEDER is the author of over 30 books for children. She is also an illustrator, and her work has been exhibited in libraries and synagogues around the greater Boston area. She is a frequent school and library visitor and runs children's writing sessions on historical fiction, oral history, and Jewish children's books, highlighting Shabbat, family, and ancient Israel. Learn more about her work at jnwieder.com.

SHAHAR KOBER is a prolific children's book illustrator whose work has been published worldwide. He was the recipient of a Sydney Taylor Honor Award in 2009 for Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride. He lives in a small town in Israel, where he also works as an art director and illustration teacher. See more of his work at skober.com and follow him on Facebook and Instagram at @shaharkober.

Editorial Reviews

01/13/2020

Mice are no strangers to Passover picture books, but they’re usually anthropomorphized seder participants; here, a mouse is just a mouse. In a small village, a widow named Rivka prepares for Passover by scrubbing her home from top to bottom and rooting out any leavened food—which is forbidden to those who strictly observe the holiday. Just when it looks like all the holiday housekeeping is done, a mouse finds a bit of bread and scampers across the village with it, setting off a chain reaction that may require the stringent cleaning to begin all over again. Although the premise may strike many readers as esoteric (it’s based on a passage from the Talmud, the ancient commentary on Jewish law), Wieder’s brisk prose—punctuated by the refrain “A mouse! A mouse! Brought bread into our house!”—and Kober’s warmhearted cartooning successfully turn the story into one of community cooperation and celebration. There’s good news for the mouse, too: Rivka leaves a plate of matzo outside the little rodent’s home in the wall. “On this night,” she says, “even a thief shouldn’t go to bed hungry!” Ages 3–7. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "An excellent addition to the Jewish tradition." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Heartwarming and humorous.” —Booklist

"This clever story, inspired by a discussion in the Talmud, celebrates community and friendship. . . . The message of kindness and generous giving, as the characters move from anger to friendship, is both ancient and relevant today.” —School Library Journal

"Wieder’s brisk prose—punctuated by the refrain 'A mouse! A mouse! Brought bread into our house!'—and Kober’s warmhearted cartooning successfully turn the story into one of community cooperation and celebration." —Publishers Weekly

"What may be sur­pris­ing about this amus­ing sto­ry is that it is based on an actu­al pas­sage from the Tal­mud. . . . The bright­ly col­ored and expres­sive illus­tra­tions are an ener­getic match for the live­ly sto­ry." —Jewish Book Council
 

From the Publisher

01/01/2020

PreS-Gr 2—This clever story, inspired by a discussion in the Talmud, celebrates community and friendship. Lonely Rivka is busily cleaning her house of bread and preparing for Passover, when a mouse appears and grabs a piece of bread from the pile. Now there might be bread missed in her house! The mouse runs into another house, and soon there are two mice and a cat unaccounted for, and a lot of unhappy people who might need to re-clean their houses. After consulting with the rabbi, they prepare to re-clean, but it is so much work. The rabbi's son convinces the villagers to pitch in. Ultimately, instead of being alone, Rivka makes her Passover meal for a houseful of helpful guests, and everyone is happy. The clear text has a folkloric feel, seamlessly including facts about the holiday and a repetitive refrain that encourages participation. The message of kindness and generous giving, as the characters move from anger to friendship, is both ancient and relevant today. The art has a rustic, old-fashioned look, despite the cartoon characters. The town is full of small, wood buildings, and the largely brown-and-green coloring is slightly splotchy, as if done with wood block or paint on wood. The women are clothed in dresses and kerchiefs, and the mice and cat are mischievously appealing. The whole comes together beautifully, celebrating the Passover spirit in an appealing package. VERDICT A welcome addition to any library serving Jewish patrons.—Amy Lilien-Harper, Wilton Library, CT

School Library Journal

★ 2019-11-05
This animal story may help explain why Jews became known as the People of the Book: Even the holiest books might include jokes or fables or riddles.

This picture book, arguably, includes all three. It's a very silly story about a very serious problem. Wieder explains that, when they're preparing for the holiday of Passover, observant Jews are required "to remove all leavened food, or chometz—down to the last bread crumb!" Fastidious Jews are never certain when it's safe to stop searching. The Babylonian Talmud addressed the issue with a sort of brainteaser, paraphrased in the author's note at the end of this book: "The Jewish sages discussed the possibility of mice bringing chometz into a house that had already been searched for it." Kober takes the passage as an opportunity to paint utterly adorable mice with heads shaped like apostrophes. (He also finds a surprising variety of shades in the skin tones of the human Jewish villagers.) And the author not only works in a chase scene, with townspeople and a cat, but somehow makes a quote from the Talmud seem like a punchline. The endless arguments about cats and mice concludes with: "…This question is not decided." But the story ends on a touching note, as the whole village joins together in a last-minute search for breadcrumbs.

A book that fits moving scenes, puzzles, and mice into the same story is an excellent addition to the Jewish tradition. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews