Catherine's Pascha

This fall, I was very busy reading for the Cybils panel on Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books (if you are interested in the outcomes, our recommended finalists are here and the 2015 winners will be announced tomorrow, February 14th!).  It was a stimulating, exciting experience.  I was lucky enough to be on the panel with Mia Wenjen, one of the founders of Multicultural Children's Book Day.  She connected me to the effort, and I was soon matched with a book.  I couldn't believe my luck to be matched with Catherine's Pascha!

You see, first of all, the name Catherine (spelled in just this way), has a great deal of personal significance for my family.  It was thrilling to see the name front and center in the title, and this coincidence definitely made Frances and Gloria eager to pick it up.  And my favorite holiday has always been Easter.  This is a holiday that again has great personal significance, and my middle name happens to be Easterling!  There are many special Easter traditions in my family, and I've created new traditions around this day for Frances and Gloria.  It was fascinating to see how Pascha is celebrated in the Orthodox churches.

Catherine knows that she will be up late on Holy Saturday, since they will be attending church very late at night.  Her younger brother, Peter, is way too sleepy to participate in the church service, so they bring along blankets and pillows to keep him comfortable.  They also bring the Pascha baskets to share with their church community after the service.  The baskets contain sandwiches and sweet rolls shaped like rabbits.

As the liturgy begins, Catherine notes the difference between the service she attended last year at her Grandma's church and this one.  But as she's thinking about what she likes best, Father Nicholas begins this year's Pascha service.  It begins with one of Catherine's favorite traditions - the lighting of the candles.  As she looks around, she notices that "the church is full of light".  Catherine's best friend, Elizabeth, is next to Catherine, and as their candles waver, they use the other's candle as support - they are sharing each other's light in the darkness of the church courtyard.

The group gathered together in the courtyard next processes in behind the priest.  The mass begins, with its celebration of the King of Glory.  Elizabeth and Catherine sit together during Mass.  At first the girls entertain themselves by playing with their candles, but Catherine's mom gets wise to their antics and quickly snuffs their light.  While Catherine pouts for a moment, she is soon distracted by the pageantry of the service.  Bells chime as the priest walks around the church, censing (distributing the smoke from burning incense around the church while saying blessings).

The Mass continues, but the girls (who are up way past their bedtimes) start to doze off.  They do rouse for Communion, and look forward to the feast that will conclude the night.  It truly is a celebration - Catherine's father even tells her that she doesn't have to choose any vegetables at the feast table!  So Elizabeth and Catherine load up their plates with all the sweets and snacks they can.  But all too soon the night is over and their families are ready to head home.  Catherine's brother, Peter, has slept soundly through both the service and the feast (missing the hot dog he had been looking forward to).  As the story ends, Catherine and her family drive home.  They are filled with joy, community, and good food.  Catherine dozes off again on the ride home, content.  As the sun comes up, though, Peter wakes, surprised and disappointed to have missed the whole celebration.

This is the plot of the story, but there are multiple layers to this book.  Most two page spreads have two sets of illustrations.  The larger background illustration showcases one of many Orthodox churches around the world.  Each of these larger illustrations includes a caption labeling the church in multiple languages.  It also gives the geographic location and the date the church was founded.  What I love about these larger illustrations is that they set this particular story in the larger Orthodox community.  People around the world are all celebrating Pascha together as one church.  I really enjoyed this idea of setting Catherine's story into context.

There is another, smaller illustration in the center of each two page spread.  This illustration goes along with the plot of the book.  Again, because this plot illustration is layered on top of the Orthodox churches of the world, the story of Catherine celebrating Pascha also feels centered in the global community.  This smaller illustration is set off by a frame which has additional text parading around the picture.  In the textual frame Riggle adds quotes from the liturgy, the story, or from the Bible.

What is interesting about the layout of this book is that there is a lot of information being given to the reader on each page, but the amount doesn't feel overwhelming.  The layout is thoughtfully done so that the book stands up to sustained reading.  Children can read straight through just paying attention to the main text.  But the additional text (the captions and frames) supplements the story so well and gives added insight into Catherine's participation in the Orthodox church.

Finally, there is terrific, helpful back matter.  There is a glossary with the Paschal greetings in all the languages of the Orthodox church.  There are also definitions for other unfamiliar terms.    On the last page there is a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help readers continue to learn.  These questions are carefully chosen to help illuminate some of the dialogue in the story.  This is another way Riggle has chosen to convey meaning to readers without making the reading experience too overwhelming.  It works very well.

I found this book so informative and really fascinating.  It is a great addition to any collection, and will be added to our Easter collection at home.  We love both Catherine's name and the holiday!

Catherine's Pascha: A Celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church.  Written by Charlotte Riggle; illustrated by R.J. Hughes.  Phoenix Flair Press, 2015.

sent by the author in celebration of MultiCultural Book Day

Here is the World

Perhaps like other families, we have a library visit routine.  We return our books by the front door as we walk in, then we head towards the back of the library where the children's section is located.  Frances likes to look for book on the library catalog, and then we all browse the picture book and children's fiction shelves.  After that the kids sometimes play on the computers or at the train table before we check out.  But our visits often lack trips to one section in particular, and it makes me a little sad.  We rarely visit the nonfiction section.  At our library, the adult and children's nonfiction is interfiled.  There are pluses and minuses to this arrangement - as a librarian, I often recommended that adults researching a subject start with children's books.  Sometimes that was enough information on a subject without seeming too overwhelming.  Other times a children's nonfiction book provided sources for research for the adult reader, just as I often point out to young readers.  So having the adult and children's nonfiction interfiled is useful to provide a broad range of reading material on a topic.  On the other hand, that means that the collection isn't as browsable for young children or parents.  Our nonfiction collection is in a different part of the building. and it's difficult to go over and spend time looking at a particular section.  Either I've left Frances and Gloria in the children's section by themselves and run over to find something specific, or I bring them with me into the nonfiction section.  They might find one or two books they want (on the last trip, Gloria found books on making jewelry and papercrafting), but then the sheer number of books on the shelves becomes overwhelming and they lost interest.

Luckily for me and my voracious interest in children's nonfiction, there is a small display of new children's nonfiction in a corner of the children's section.  It usually has about ten titles on it, and I always check out what's available when we are there.  A few weeks ago I was lucky to find Here is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays on that shelf.

Here is the World is a luminous picture book, giving short rhymes to describe the Jewish holidays during the year.  Newman starts with the celebrations that happen at any time of year, like Shabbat and naming ceremonies for new baby girls.  Then she begins at the start of the Jewish year, which happens with Rosh Hashanah in the fall.  Each season is introduced with a rhyming couplet and a two page spread.  Then holidays within that season are shown chronologically.  It helps readers who may not be Jewish connect the holidays visually with the season.  Many of the holidays are also tied to the season they are celebrated in.  For instance, on the page explaining Sukkot (which is a fall holiday), the text reads "Here is the sukkah, its roof made of twigs./ Here are some grapes, pomegranates, and figs."  A young reader may not pay attention to the fact that all of the fruits listed are harvested in the fall, but they will see pumpkins and sunflowers scattered around the sukkah too, reinforcing the fall theme.

The same thing happens in the spring, with the holiday of Tu B'Shevat.  The poem reads "Here is some dirt and some seeds to be sown./ Here are some trees that are already grown."  The reader can see trees scattered throughout the illustration, all fully in bloom, as well as see children planting. This connects the holiday immediately to spring, even if a reader doesn't understand the Hebrew name of the holiday.  This is a very effective and simple way to bring the holidays to life for readers, as well as root them in the everyday.

I was impressed with the fluidity of the text.  Newman does a masterful job of creating easy to read rhymes that are catchy yet simple.  I've mentioned before that there are only two lines of text to convey a feeling of the holiday.  It's no easy feat particularly as there is so much symbolism to convey.  There are also Hebrew words used throughout the text, bu it's done so that you can't really accidentally mispronounce them.  Even though words are there without a contextual pronunciation guide, the Hebrew words often rhyme with other words, giving an insecure reader a leg up on how that word is said.

And this book wouldn't be as successful without the amazing illustrations.  The illustrations help readers with clues to the celebration. At Purim, the text reads "Here's a parade - come and march with the crowd! Here is a grogger to shake nice and loud."  You might not know what Purim is, but you can see that the participants are in costume, and three of the four people featured are shaking the groggers.  If you aren't sure what a grogger is, you could recognize it from the illustration.  The picture exudes fun and noise.  There is confetti, strewn about and noisemakers galore.  You feel like you are there, celebrating.  At Passover, the text describes a Haggadah laid at each setting.  Again, the word may be unfamiliar, but you can identify the little boy placing the Haggadah.  Even if you know nothing of the Haggadah's purpose or meaning, you can see its size and shape there.

Another thing that I adore about the illustrations are their connection to family.  The same family is shown throughout the book, always celebrating together.  The family is young, with children.  Each family member wears the same pattern throughout the book, helping to keep them identifiable (an especially genius idea, since the celebrations often involve other people).  They are always smiling, hugging, helping each other - it is clear that they are enjoying their time together.  One of my favorite illustrations takes place at the end of the book.  The family is lighting a paper lantern together.  Their faces are lit with joy, awe, contentment and wonder.  Gal makes you feel like you are eavesdropping on a wonderful moment - one of those times that will become a cherished memory.

And finally, I can't move on without celebrating the exemplary back matter in this title.  There are paragraphs detailing additional information about the Jewish customs and holidays highlighted in the text.  Some of the Hebrew words are defined, some of the symbols explained.  Again, these are done in an easy to read manner, so readers can stop ad refer to them during a reading session without too much interruption.  But my favorite is the final piece of back matter - a section of holiday crafts and recipes! The crafts are all easy for children to perform with little assistance and the recipes also indicate when an adult should help.  It's a terrific supplement to the book's text.  And it all comes together in a glorious book that will interest any reader.


Here is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays.  By Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Susan Gal.  Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2014.

borrowed from the Lewis & Clark Library