Review: Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast by Jamie S. Korngold (Author), Julie Fortenberry (Illustrator)
Sadie smiled as she reached for her glasses and looked over at her little sister, Ori, as she snuggled up in her bed with her teddy bear. It was very early in the morning, too early for little children to be up and about, but it was a very special day. It was the first day of Sukkot and they were both anxious to “see if their sukkah decorations had lasted through the night.” Sadie slipped on her fluffy pink slippers and led Ori to the back door to take a look at their sukkah out the window. The checkered table cloth was still on the table, their paper chains and popcorn strings still hung from the vined trellis. Their sukkah was beautiful and as perfect as it had been the day before when they set it up.
The table and chairs in the sukkah were very inviting and Ori suggested they have breakfast there. Together they began to gather supplies in the kitchen and place them on a tray in preparation for their feast. Cereal, spoons, bowls and milk. Juice, cups, challah rolls and napkins made their way onto the tray, but when Sadie tried to lift it . . . “Whoops—too heavy!” Sadie and Ori began to take things out a little at a time to put on the sukkah table, but once they were settled they discovered that something was missing. “Daddy says that when we eat in the sukkah we are supposed to invite guests so that we can share our yummy food.” Sadie was right, but would they be able to find some friends to share their breakfast so early in the morning?
This is a charming tale of how two young sisters celebrate their sukkah breakfast during Sukkot. When I read this story I could almost feel the excitement Sadie and Ori felt as they prepared to celebrate breakfast in their sukkah. I especially enjoyed the two-page spread when they were “trying” to be quiet as they set up their breakfast supplies on the tray. The artwork is bold, colorful and meshes well with the story. There is a lovely, little ingenious twist at the end that made me smile as they solved the dilemma of finding friends to share their special breakfast. This is an excellent story that any parent or caretaker can use to begin a child’s religious education or simply read for enjoyment.
