Smil­ing faces, bright col­ors, and impor­tant themes dis­tin­guish this pic­ture book, which makes Passover a sparkling hol­i­day, and which will appeal to read­ers and par­ents alike. As young Ethan is prepar­ing for a seder, he is joined one by one by his friends, fam­i­ly, and neigh­bors — a live­ly, mul­ti­cul­tur­al group (plus pets and oth­er ani­mals) who love to cel­e­brate its time­less themes.

All the impor­tant ele­ments of the seder are not­ed and appre­ci­at­ed. Wine, matzah, seder plate, reclin­ing, dip­ping, and sto­ry­telling exem­pli­fy the mean­ing of the hol­i­day. As each par­tic­i­pant arrives at the door, Ethan won­ders if Eli­jah, the seder’s tra­di­tion­al guest, is the one seek­ing entry. Even a bear is warm­ly wel­comed, remind­ing us all that this is a hol­i­day of invit­ing, shar­ing, and inter­act­ing with oth­ers in the warmest and most wel­com­ing way.

An exten­sive author’s note explains more about Passover and focus­es on its inter­na­tion­al aspect, teach­ing read­ers about tra­di­tion­al seder foods from around the world. It includes a recipe for haroset that chil­dren can make to enhance their own fam­i­ly seders.