These 5 great books will explain the Passover holiday (and story) to your children.
Passover starts this Monday. And whether or not you’ll be attending a Seder, we think all holidays are great opportunities to educate your children. The best (and possibly the easiest) way to do that? Start reading. After all, there are so many great books about Passover for kids. We’ve rounded up five that are great for younger ones because one can never be too little to learn about the history of things—and because we love reading to our kids.
Passover is celebrated with a meal called a Seder that centers on traditions that refer to the Passover story—which is the freeing of the Jews from slavery in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. Many of the Seder traditions are kid-centric. For example, at one point in the Seder, an adult hides a piece of matzo (called the afikoman) that the children have to find—and the child who finds it firsts gets a prize. Another tradition is for the youngest child to ask four questions about why the Seder dinner is different from all other normal dinners. The story and celebration of Passover, then, is great for kids—from the moral and historical discussion opportunity that the origin of the holiday presents, to its modern observance.
And that’s why these books are so great—some of them explain the Passover story to kids, while others are about celebrating the Passover holiday. Plus, in this day and age, it’s so important to remind kids that books—and not just iPads—are fun. (Whether or not screen time can be a good thing, we believe this is important.) From Tilda Balsley’s Let My People Go to Emily Sper’s The Passover Seder, don’t let the holiday pass you by without having story time with your little ones
Let My People Go! By Tilda Balsley
This book tells the story, from Exodus, of Passover. The coolest part? A special coding system in the text allows it to be used as a script!
Ultimate Stickerbook: Passover by DK Publishing
A sticker-filled storybook about why and how we celebrate Passover.
Sammy Spider’s First Passover by Sylvia A. Rouss and Katherine Janus Kahn
This story about the celebration of Passover is, adorably, from the point of view of a young spider, Sammy, who lives in a web with his mom in a home preparing to celebrate the holiday.
Passover Is Here: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Bobby Pearlman
This story follows both a family recounting the story of Passover, as well as their young son learning to participate in the Seder. Flaps that reveal the reasons for various traditions make this a really fun book for the little ones.
The Passover Seder by Emily Sper
While this book includes a simple retelling of the Passover story, the fun part is an interactive page-turning experience of a Seder. The pages allow children to “break” matzo, help the Jews cross the red sea, and more.