This is the Challah
Using the “This Is the House That Jack Built” formulation, this amusingly describes how a bubbe and her grandchildren make the challah for a Shabbat dinner. Well, the ponytailed granddaughter helps, while the toddler grandson mostly causes trouble—with a big smile on his face. After the eggs are whipped, the yeast froths the water, the sugar sweetens, and so on, it’s time to braid the dough into a challah loaf. Finally, in a house warmed by the baking, the family blesses the bread before eating. Cheerful in both text and art, the book captures the fun (and disasters) of cooking with kids. Yet by the book’s conclusion, it is clear that the bread is a symbol of something more than just food to fill one’s stomach. So many times grandparents are depicted in picture books as older than would be expected. Here, happily, the cartoon-style pictures feature a contemporary-looking grandmother—and also happily, her recipe for challah appears at the book’s conclusion. Preschool-Grade 1. --Ilene Cooper