The classic Little Red Hen tale, with a Passover twist. Another book from the Friends of the Library sale that I'm sending to a friend. ( )

In this charming version of a favorite folktale, a slightly frantic but industrious hen finds the true meaning of Passover in spite of her lazy barnyard friends. Author’s Note, Recipe, Glossary.

A classic tale gets a Jewish twist, when Little Red Hen asks her friends for help making Passover matzah.

I'm usually skeptical of religious books, but this one was fantastic. The Little Red Hen makes a perfect Yiddish-speaking character, going about all the necessary tasks herself, while her "friends" Sheep, Horse, and Dog refuse to pitch in when asked. When they come knocking on her door at the beginning of her Seder, she relents and lets them in...but guess who has to do the dishes? A wonderful read-aloud.

*

Re-read March 2019 ( )

The author cleverly folds Yiddish proverbs and the halacha of making matzah for Pesach into the tale of the Little Red Hen, demonstrating along the way the values of kindness and of forgiveness. (The hen's friends show their true repentance by doing the dishes after the seder.) Very well written, reads aloud well. True to its epigraph: "The greatest wisdom of all is kindness." - Marla S. ( )