Where Is Poppy by Caroline Kusin Pritchard; illustrations by Dana Wulfekotte; New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; © 2024; ISBN 9781534-489196; 34 pages including glossary; $18.99.
SAN DIEGO – This book for children teaches children aged 4 through 8 two important lessons: some of the rituals of Passover and how the spirits of loved ones remain with us even after their deaths.
In this case, a little girl misses her grandfather whom she called “Poppy.” Her mother tells her that he’s still around, which, at first, the girl takes to mean that he is physically hiding somewhere. As she looks around the house, she remembers special things about him, such as how he liked to spice up matzah ball soup with a chili pepper; advice he gave her about pushing through hard times; and how he led the seder with loud songs.
Then she sees her father ladling out spicy matzah ball soup; an uncle helping a cousin push through the pain of a sore elbow, and her sister singing loudly like Poppy did, and she realizes that his influence is very much in evidence, even if he is not there physically.
The illustrations picture a happy, interracial, extended family celebrating the various Passover traditions together. It can help children suffering from the death of a loved family member come to terms with his or her disappearance.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com