Books about Jew­ish rit­u­als as well as how and why we observe them are impor­tant tools in edu­cat­ing chil­dren and keep­ing our her­itage alive. When the book also ref­er­ences a loss, such as that of a grand­par­ent, it is even more valu­able. Not every par­ent or care­giv­er is com­fort­able with the sub­ject or pro­fi­cient in explain­ing it in an unfright­en­ing or appro­pri­ate man­ner. This is one of the rea­sons that Some­thing Sweet can be just the right book for a par­tic­u­lar moment in a child’s life.

Lizzie and her moth­er pay a shi­va call to Lizzie’s friend, Josh, upon the death of Josh’s grand­fa­ther. They bring fra­grant home­made brown­ies, and Lizzie’s moth­er explains shi­va in a sim­ple, effec­tive man­ner, one that both Lizzie and the read­er can eas­i­ly absorb. She tells Lizzie that it is impor­tant to spend time with her friend but that she should­n’t expect their reg­u­lar light­heart­ed inter­ac­tions, point­ing out that Josh might feel emo­tion­al and sad about the loss of his grand­fa­ther. She describes the tra­di­tions of wash­ing hands at the door after a funer­al, cov­er­ing mir­rors, group prayers, and shar­ing mean­ing­ful mem­o­ries. The roles of fam­i­ly and good friends who pro­vide com­fort are emphasized.

Soft­ly col­ored illus­tra­tions alter­nate with some which are sepia-toned when Josh shares lov­ing mem­o­ries of his grand­fa­ther. An exten­sive author’s note is append­ed dis­cussing the role of shi­va in Jew­ish life and enu­mer­at­ing sev­er­al tra­di­tion­al observances.

This book will fill an impor­tant niche in Jew­ish fam­i­ly life and will be read again and again.