Customer Reviews

Richard Codor's Joyous Haggadah:A Children and Family Cartoon Haggadah for Passover Seder

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I bought 5 copies from the author just before Passover and had to order 15 more within 2 days. People were saying that they had been waiting for this book to come along. I will always carry it around Passover time and all I can say is I hope Richard Codor keeps writing books about Jewish holidays.

When my kids were younger, I'd look every year for a Haggadah that we could use at our seders. I never found one that I liked very much--they were either too dry, too long, too abbreviated, etc. Richard Codor's Joyous Haggadah seems perfect to me. The drawings are cute, the story is appropriately abbreviated, and it's not dry. When my 13-year-old daughter and her friend saw the book on our kitchen table, they picked it up immediately, started oohing over the pictures, and then read the whole thing. I have to say that's a first for any Haggadah in this house.

This is not your standard Haggadah. This one tells the Passover story with wit and is illustrated with humorous drawings that are funny and detailed. You'll recognize your Uncle Hy and Aunt Esther among the depicted celebrants. Jewish history wasn't this funny since Mel Brooks "2000 Year Old Man." Check out the Hebrew man tapping his foot nervously while waiting for the bread to rise in the convection oven while most of his tribe is already on the go. And, the little boy who just before crossing the Red Sea, stops to relieve himself near a cactus bush. And then there are the three Patriarchs (who knows three?) dancing the hora, and the four Matriarchs (who knows four?) doing the "walk like an Egyptian" move. My personal favorite is the Marx Brothers as the Four Sons - Groucho as the wise child and Harpo as the simple child. So why is this night different from all other nights? With this Haggadah on hand this night can be serious fun!

My children,husband and I loved this haggadah. It was easy to read, the print was big and the pictures were wonderful. My husband is not jewish and he does not know the songs so it would have been nice to have a CD with it because we had to skip all the music in the book. I read music but there was no music written out only the words. Other than that the service with this haggadah was enjoyable.

I wanted a fun haggadah for a very mixed family passover (ages and religious background) and this one was PERFECT. It had great pictures and some of the wording had been added to or changed to give everyone at the table a chuckle. It was especially entertaining for those of us who have sat through many years with one of the older standard haggadahs.

"Richard Codor's Joyous Haggadah" is a 48-page cartoon-style illustrated story of Passover and the Jewish celebration called Haggadah. Richard and Liora Codor created this thoroughly 'child friendly' explanation of the meaning of Haggadah, the games and celebratory elements associated with it, in order to inform and inspire children to join in. The text is organized in traditional order, with the prayers and customs being concise and written in English, transliterated in English, and in Hebrew. There are sing-along-songs, easy to make recipes that will fully engage young celebrants. From the blessing of the wine (Kadesh) and the washing of hands (U-Rechatz), to telling the story (Maggid) and bitter herbs (Maror), to the festive meal (Shulchan Orekh) and the hidden desert (Tzafun), and especially to praising God (Hallel), Featuring Jo Ellingson's graphic design, deftly edited by Zelda Shluker, and featuring Hebrew type by Rachel Fyman, "Richard Codor's Joyous Haggadah" is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to family, elementary school, and community library reference collections for children about the annual Jewish celebration of Haggadah.

Wow! Can these folks tell a story! (not that the original Author wasn't great shakes to begin with!) And the drawings! As good as Sheldon Mayer, almost! Maybe even better! Seriously, folks- how can you go another nano-second without owning a copy of this soon to be classic! Buy a dozen! Give them away to complete strangers! Then buy more!

For a non jewish person who is open to the practices and meanings of other faiths Richard Codor carefully illustrates a complete introduction to the Haggadah that makes it fun and easy to read for those who want to learn this important ritual of the Passover Seder.

This Haggadah helped to make our seder lively and interactive. Religious observance, by passing on traditions and history, doesn't have to be boring!

This hagaddah offers a quick but thorough seder evening. The illustrations are amazing (including the Marx Brothers as the four sons). Large print. People ask me to use this hagaddah as opposed to my others. It's in demand!