Secret Seder - Tapa dura

Doreen Rappaport has written several award-winning books for children, including The School Is Not White!, illustrated by Curtis James; Martin’s Big Words, a Caldecott Honor Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration, and a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award winner; Freedom River, an ALA Notable Book and winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration; and John’s Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon, all illustrated by Bryan Collier. Rappaport lives and writes in upstate New York.

Grade 2-6 - Amid the plethora of Holocaust children's literature emerges yet another picture book that uses the themes of exodus and freedom associated with Passover to contrast the reality of Nazi-occupied Europe. The narrator is a French boy whose family lives openly as Catholics, but secretly observes their Jewish faith. Despite the fear that their true identity will be discovered, he and his father attend an all-male Seder held in an abandoned shack in a nearby forest. They arrive with a roasted egg for the meager Seder plate, which lacks many of the traditional ingredients. One man says, "We have no bitter herbs to dip in salted water," while another replies, "We do not need bitter herbs....Our lives are bitter enough." The highlight of the evening is when the boy recites the four traditional questions, which he had secretly practiced with his mother. The men provide secondary answers to the customary ones: "I think tonight is different because tonight all over Europe, Jews are being murdered." Their sadness, fear, and misery are underscored by the idea that tonight they are free in their hearts and by their hope for a brighter future. Watercolors depicting gloomy, foreboding images of the village, forest, and shack counter the child's memories of happier meals at his grandmother's home. Rappaport interweaves themes and descriptive text to create a meaningful story in a distinctive setting. An excellent discussion starter. - Rita Soltan, Oakland University, Rochester, MI
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