Book Review: “An Invitation to Passover” by Kerry Olitzky and Deborah Bodin Cohen

Age recommendation: 4 to 8 (though children of all ages can enjoy reading this with their families)

What Makes This One of the Best Children’s Books

Many know Passover as a Jewish holiday celebrated in April, but readers of all beliefs and backgrounds will enjoy the multi-cultural celebration found in “An Invitation to Passover.” And they can enjoy it anytime, as its lessons remain relevant all year long.

Written by two rabbis, this inclusive book delivers an accessible breakdown of Passover and its traditions, while intertwining characters and cultures from around the world. Regardless of their faith or race, young readers will gain a greater knowledge of different people’s traditions and lifestyles, and even glimpse how various cultures can overlap.  

In this uplifting story, a small Jewish family regrets that their relatives can’t make the trip for their Passover seder (the holiday’s celebratory feast). The parents agree to their daughter Hannah’s suggestion of inviting her non-Jewish friends.

The book proceeds to lay out the meaning and cultural significance of Passover in small, digestible portions. Hannah’s invitations include simple statements about the holiday, like “Passover means great food” and “Passover means springtime.”

When her friends arrive, each of their families hails from a different part of the globe. They all come bearing gifts and insights reflecting how they interpret her invitations’ messages – providing an educational yet entertaining peek into a variety of nationalities and cultures.

An Indian family brings a kite, for instance – representing how families in India celebrate spring with kite flying – which they relate to the message that “Passover means springtime.”

A Black friend brings the lyrics for a hymn about freedom, as she compares Black Americans’ freedom from slavery to Passover’s celebration of Israelites escaping slavery.

Another friend’s mother from Russia discusses how she wasn’t allowed to celebrate Passover during the Soviet era.

The authors use fun devices to hold children’s attention through all of this. Many pages feature Hannah’s simplistic pictures about Passover, and Mariia Kolker’s illustrations are sweetly eye-catching.

The story also features the family’s adorable dog greeting each guest, and I can’t imagine any young reader not falling in love with this fuzzy character.

This book emphasizes the beauty of people celebrating both their differences and their commonalities – and above all, the value of learning about each others’ traditions.

How My Child Reacted to This Book

Even with my son in preschool, this book never failed to hold his interest, especially as Hannah’s child-like pictures often caught his eye. Whenever he noticed them, he immediately asked what they meant.

He also adored every mention of Hannah’s dog, and he pointed out its eager reaction to the guests and food.

He asked questions about various items mentioned in the book, like why the Russian woman hadn’t been able to celebrate Passover, and I did my best to provide straightforward explanations.

Potential Conversations to Pair with This Book

“Invitation to Passover” offers a variety of meaningful discussion topics for families.

For non-Jewish families like mine, this provides a chance to discuss what they learned from the book about the Passover holiday and its significance for the Jewish religion.

Families can also look at a globe together to find each country mentioned in the book, and discuss more about that country’s history and culture. They can also take this opportunity to discuss the history of slavery in America.

And as this book showcases a group of friends from a variety of cultures, families can chat with kids about the benefits of meeting many different people, and respecting their traditions and beliefs.

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