Reviews

Passover Around the World by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, Elizabeth Wolf

elizabethlk's review against another edition

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2.0

Passover Around the World is a bit of a mixed bag, which is disappointing since I really enjoyed Hanukkah Around the World.

Pros: There is a lot of information included about Passover in general, as well as practices in specific regions and by specific ethnic groups. Whether a child is a Jew or a Gentile, there shouldn't be any difficulties understanding this book or learning something new from it. The illustrations are cute. The recipes at the end sound tasty.

Cons: My number one issue is that the slur for the Amazigh people is used instead of Amazigh or Imazighen. I also took issue with how even though most of the countries were ones that still have a Jewish population (of various sizes), almost all of the stories were set in Israel--that is hardly the "Passover Around the World" the title promises. I also didn't think the recipes included with each story were presented half as well as the recipes at the end.

Even though I did learn from it, I wouldn't feel right about recommending it. At the very least, it would need a modern edit to update the language it uses, and a more thorough edit wouldn't be amiss. As an adult, I can recognise the flaws in the book and set them aside from the new information, but this is a children's book, and we really don't need to pass that stuff down to children for them to need to unlearn later.

elizabethlk's review

Go to review page

2.0

Passover Around the World is a bit of a mixed bag, which is disappointing since I really enjoyed Hanukkah Around the World.

Pros: There is a lot of information included about Passover in general, as well as practices in specific regions and by specific ethnic groups. Whether a child is a Jew or a Gentile, there shouldn't be any difficulties understanding this book or learning something new from it. The illustrations are cute. The recipes at the end sound tasty.

Cons: My number one issue is that the slur for the Amazigh people is used instead of Amazigh or Imazighen. I also took issue with how even though most of the countries were ones that still have a Jewish population (of various sizes), almost all of the stories were set in Israel--that is hardly the "Passover Around the World" the title promises. I also didn't think the recipes included with each story were presented half as well as the recipes at the end.

Even though I did learn from it, I wouldn't feel right about recommending it. At the very least, it would need a modern edit to update the language it uses, and a more thorough edit wouldn't be amiss. As an adult, I can recognise the flaws in the book and set them aside from the new information, but this is a children's book, and we really don't need to pass that stuff down to children for them to need to unlearn later.
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