This family Haggadah combines the best parts of a Passover seder with the tale of a little matzah raft. The raft sails at sunset with two kids and a crew of shoes. Tracks on the seder trail lead to holiday candles, ten frightful plagues and a lot of questions. The Haggadah highlights why Jews retell the Passover story year after year.
Levin’s playful illustrations capture the seder rituals and relate them to our world today. The language is welcoming with prayers and songs in English and Hebrew. Haggadah Regatta invites readers and non-readers alike to participate in the seder. The crew learns that actions really matter… especially if you happen to be a kid named TwoZooZEEM.
Haggadah Regatta is a delightful Passover book for children in the days leading up to the holiday, during the seder, and at bedtime under the Matzah Ball Moon.
Carol Bloom Levin writes adventure tales that celebrate Jewish life. Her first picture book, A Rosh Hashanah Walk, came out when her children were small. Decades later, a foot-stomping Passover seder inspired the kid’s Haggadah. Shoes are part of Carol’s history. Growing up in New Jersey, she played STOMP! in her daddy’s shoe store.
After receiving a BFA from Boston University, Carol exhibited her work in galleries, taught drug prevention to students in grades 2-6, and produced The Synagogue Journal: 1856-2006, a comprehensive history of the first Jewish congregation in Brooklyn, New York. The author-illustrator is a member of the Society of Children’s Writers & Illustrators. Carol lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan and loves to travel with the matzah raft. Website: www.carollevin.us
“… it hits that sweet spot, managing to create a meaningful ritual text while also remaining fun and attractive for the youngest participants attending the family seder… I can imagine many young families using this Haggadah both as a read-aloud introduction to Passover and as their actual family Haggadah during the seder…” —Jessica DeYoung Kander, Washtenaw Jewish News
“Haggadah Regatta is a playful and delightfully illustrated Haggadah that’s perfect for young children and their families… The language of the Haggadah is inviting for non-Jews and Jews alike… creative transliterations of Hebrew prayers and songs mean that anyone can participate…” —Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner
“This is the perfect way to keep everyone occupied around the Seder table. Not too many words and beautiful illustrations that give just enough scope for discussion but not distraction… [I am] so glad I bought multiple copies!” —Anne Sebba
“Like the best music… I find the rhythms and delight of this book keep coming to my mind weeks after I read it. I love its spirit, certainly its comprehensiveness, but mostly how it engages children and parents in the joyful repetition of sounds and actions. It punctuates the seder -- with a STOMP, with songs, and with a physical play on words… it will animate our Passover ritual for years to come.” —Lee Gruzen
