Customer Reviews

Sukkot Treasure Hunt

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4 star:		(1)
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From the author of Harvest of Light comes another fantastic photo essay that brings Israel to life in a family's celebration of Sukkot. Readers will join the family and other community members as they create a sukkah, and journey to collect the necessary elements to celebrate Sukkot: the lulav, aravot (willow), hadas (myrtle), and etrog. The hills of Tzefat provide the beautiful setting for many of the photos, introducing the landscape of Israel in a refreshing way. The story ends with a family meal in the Sukkah. The photographs are stunning and the accompanying text is succinct and readable, perfect for a read aloud in school or at home. A "Fun Facts" and "About Sukkot" section at the back of the book add to the educational value of the book. The only weakness of an otherwise outstanding book is the lack of a full-view photograph of the completed sukkah. For ages 3 - 8. Barbara Bietz

Reviewed by: Wayne Walker

Who knows what the Jewish festival of Sukkot is? If you said that it is a harvest celebration, you would be right, but it is more than just that. Literally the "Festival of Booths," it recalls the temporary huts that the Jewish people built as they wandered in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Each family of Jews erects a sukkah, and every morning of Sukkot they wave the "four species" up, down, and around. Author Allison Ofanansky follows a young girl, her Abba (father), and Ima (mother), who live in the village of Tzefat, as they go on a scavenger hunt in the surrounding countryside to find the lulav or branch from a date palm, aravot or branches from a willow tree, hadas or nice-smelling myrtle, and etrog or citrus fruit that looks like a big lemon. Will they be able to obtain them all? Along the way, the family also notices a hyrax, a bay tree, a grapevine, a pomegranate tree, a wild orange tree, and an eagle.

The visually stunning photographs by Eliyahu Alpern grace this text by illustrating both the plants and the animals mentioned and the family's search for what it needs. In the back, there are two pages of "fun facts" about many of the species mentioned in the book as well as more information concerning Sukkot. For those who have read about the Festival of the Booths in the Scriptures, it is very interesting to see how it is observed by Jewish people today. The author, who lives in the village of Kaditah, near the mystical city of Tzefat, has written another children's book, Harvest of Light, also published by Kar-Ben.

My grandchildren love the celebration of Sukkot. This book teaches them how to celebrate the holiday.

This book is just as lovely as the first one. I enjoy reading about Aravah's adventures and the photos are great. Keep writing