Chik Chak Shabbat

Reviewed by: Ann Marie Townsend - South Berwick Public Library , South Berwick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: March 11, 2015

Review

This is a delightful story about Goldie Simcha, who lives in a large apartment building and every Friday she cooks cholent as a way of remembering her Grandmother. Every Friday, she helped her Grandmother get ready for Shabbat, always hurrying to be ready before the sun went down. She describes the preparation and family traditions, and how it was done as a family, together. Now, every Friday, she cooks, making the whole building smell delicious, then all the neighbors gather and eat together. The neighbors come from different ethnic backgrounds, all enjoy a meal together but can never agree what ingredient makes the cholent so delicious. Then, one Friday, everything is wrong, they sniffed, and "couldn't catch the faintest whiff." She was sick, so all the neighbors bring food to still share their meal. Illustrated with oil paint and collage, this is a warm story of an ethnically diverse neighborhood who come together to share a meal each week and are a caring community. Includes a recipe. The text is lyrical, goes well with the illustrations, just a wonderful story about diversity and community.

Overall Book Score: excellent