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Great story talking about a tradition but also a including a narrative about a personal, more fictional, story. Great for read aloud and introducing culture! ( )

It was about the preparation for the Jewish celebration Passover. It took place in Russia. It is something you could use to teach about Passover.It appears on most calendars already. It was also a love story like Romeo and Juliet at first glance. ( )

Neighbors and good friends for years, the Galinsky and the Lippa families had always celebrated Passover together, until a feud involving an exchange of two geese and six hen put an end to their happy accord. Now bitterly divided - Mama Lippa shuts her windows, so she doesn't have to hear the Galinkys, while Papa Galinsky cuts a second door into his house, so he doesn't have to see the Lippas - it seemed that their friendship was over. For David Lippa and Rachel Galinsky, however, being in love and determined to get married, this situation was not to be tolerated, and the two soon enlisted their rabbi, as well as all the people in the village, in their plan to bring the warring clans together again.

An entertaining tale of healing and reconciliation at the holidays, The Elijah Door is both humorous and heartwarming, emphasizing the importance of family and community, and the role of cultural and religious observances in bringing us together. I appreciated the "Romeo and Juliet" style story, and also greatly enjoyed the illustrations by Bulgarian-born artist Alexi Natchev. I love wood and linoleum-block prints, and these were just lovely, perfectly suited to the rural setting of the tale, and to its folkloric feel. I didn't recognize the illustrator's name at first, but now I see that he also worked on the Hungarian folktale, A Wagonload of Fish, which I also enjoyed. All in all, this was an engaging holiday tale. I'm not sure why it's described as a folktale on the front dust-jacket flap, when it appears to be a wholly original story, but leaving that issue aside, it is a book I would recommend, both to young readers looking for family stories set during Passover, and to anyone (like myself) who appreciates block-print artwork. ( )