Ethiopia has one of the longest continuously practicing Jewish communities in the world, dating back to the 4th century CE. Being so old and so distant from other major Jewish communities, Ethiopian Jews have their own particular traditions, and one is explored here.

The day before Passover, Workitu and her sister must smash all of their family’s crockery, including Workitu’s favorite cup. Workitu is distraught over her loss, until she learns that all the clay is softened and worked into the plates, cups, and other tools that will be used for the following year, allowing her to keep her cup, but in a new form.

This story is less about religion, and more about emotions, family, and tradition. It is a celebration of unique heritage, and one that we really don’t see much in picture books.

Oh, but why, oh why, is this book being released in the US on the LAST DAY of Passover!? I want to read this to my nephews! But our big family Seder is on night 2! I can only hope that someone manages to push through an early ebook publication, but it looks grim.

If you’re going to have final-night seder with your family (or if you’re in the UK, where this book already released), pick this up, definitely. And I shall envy you.

This is a wonderful book about Passover. I loved the perspective of Workitu and this history and meaning behind breaking dishes before Passover. Wonderful book and I would use this in my classroom.

Passover brings only the new with it for Workitu, a Jewish girl in a community in Ethiopia. This is bad news when a new frock can't persuade her to engage, and the gaining of the new means the end of the old – even her favourite mugs and bowls from the kitchen will have to be smashed up first. But when she's forced to get down and dirty with all the broken crockery she has the revelation that this was ever so, and what she once thought was new and wonderful was made from the centuries-old clay of her ancestors. Thus a girl learns more of her traditions, and the cyclical nature of much of our world. It's perhaps too niche in its intended audience to be widely received, but there was little wrong with this – the art could have been stronger but was OK, and the lesson was certainly given with entertainment as well as education as the aim.

What do you know about the cultural practices of Jews who come from Ethiopia? One practice is to break all of the clay pots and other vessels, crush them into dust, mix them with some new clay and form them into new, then decorate and fire them in the kiln just before Passover. All things old are new again!
Translated into English by Jessica Bonn.
The illustrations by Eden Spivak are delightful, imaginative, clear, and colorful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, and even to a school or teacher or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Pen & Sword/Green Bean Books via NetGalley. Thank You!
out 02-28-2024

“Workitu’s Passover” tells the tale of a young girl as she prepares for Passover in her small Jewish community in Ethiopia. This story centers on the themes of tradition and the importance of family, renewal, and of remaking the old into the new. Workitu is upset because it is the custom in her village to break all the clay dishware every year and make new dishes. She does not want to give up her favorite dishes that her mother made. It is only when she helps her aunt make new ones, that she learns the old dishes are ground to powder and mixed into the clay for the new dishes. Then she can appreciate that in remaking the dishes, they are handed down through the generations and all her family are honored.

The book is based on the childhood memories of the author, Zahava Workitu Goshen, who emigrated from Ethiopia to Israel. The Beta Israel Jewish community lived in Ethiopia and were isolated from mainstream Jewish communities for millennia. They maintained some unique traditions; the recycling of Passover dishes to and from the earth is this story's focus.

There has been a push for multicultural children’s books in recent years, so that children can see themselves in the books that they read. This charming story is a perfect example of multicultural representation of the Jewish diaspora. Most Jewish children’s literature depicts white Ashkenazic Jews of European decent. It is important for children to see that there are Jews of all colors from all over the world.

Jewish children will enjoy reading a different type of Passover story. But any child can appreciate the themes presented. However, this book does assume that the reader has some basic knowledge about Passover. During Passover, it is traditional to eat unleavened bread to recall the fact that during the Exodus from Egypt there was not enough time to let dough rise. In Preparation for Passover, people may rid their home of any crumb of chametz or leavened bread. In most homes throughout the world, that would simply entail a thorough cleaning of the kitchen. Readers should realize that this story presents a unique custom.

I read a temporary e-book from Green Been Books. However, I can honestly recommend this book to any youngster. Children reading about this unique tradition will hear a story of love and honoring one's elders. Parents or teachers might use this story for discussion of Passover, Ethiopian culture, honoring one’s elders, or recycling.

I received an ARC of “Workitu’s Passover: A Story from Ethiopia” from NetGalley and Green Bean Books/Pen & Sword in exchange for an honest review.

Written by Zahava Workitu Goshen and Mayaan Ben Hagai, illustrated by Eden Spivak, and translated by Jessica Bonn, this PB was originally published in 2022.

Overall, this was a super cute book about one woman’s childhood and how Passover isn’t just the end of old things, but the beginning of new things. In Ethiopian Jewish culture, Passover is also a sign of continuity, from one generation to the next. This is clearly stated when Workitu doesn’t want to destroy a pot, but soon learns that the shards from her favorite pot were crushed together and used to make new pots for the upcoming year.

The authors included two terms that non-Jews might not understand: “chametz” and “Passover.” Besides these, though, there are no words that a young reader wouldn’t understand. I’m grateful that this book was translated, and Bonn did an excellent job. The illustrator, Spivak, also did a phenomenal job with all of the images.

I always enjoy reading about the Jewish Diaspora community. I’m grateful that Goshen decided to share her beautiful community with the world. However, my hope is that many in the gentile communities will also read this book. Prior to translation, it would have helped if Goshen and Ben Hagai had included a glossary or a “More About…” section so that people not familiar with Ethiopian Jews in particular, or Judaism in general, could learn a little about the culture. For the English version, I also think that it would have been helpful if the illustrator, Spivak, could have drawn a map showing Africa and where the Ethiopian Jews lived to give kids a sense of how very close that they actually were to Israel. With just a little tweaking, this PB could easily be a major award winner.

This was new to me but what a beautiful way to celebrate! Breaking the things from last year, remaking them, and knowing that you're part of an ongoing tradition with the family you love.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Workitu’s Passover
by Ben Hagai
The idea of destroying something to make something new is a difficult concept in our modern world. This story shows how people valued their resources and understood their cultural history. The multicultural aspect of the story can show students how children live in other cultures and countries.

I thought that this book was excellent and I loved the story.

I read the book with my 6 year old daughter and I loved the way that the book was written and how well it was all put together, we used the book to talk about different counties and cultures. She is learning more about these at school so this was great for us to be able to chat around it and help her learning at home too.

She was able to read the book to me (with a bit of help on a couple of tricky words) and really enjoyed it from start to finish. The story was easy for her to follow and it was a great way for us to spend some time together – we do love our reading time and she takes after me with her massive love of books!

The illustrations were perfect for the book and really brought the story to life.

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

This story follows Workitu, a girl in Ethopia, as she gets ready to celebrate Passover.
It introduces the customs of the Jews of Ethiopia, the tradition of breaking old pots to make room for the new. When the new pots were ready, Passover would be here.

"We must break old things to make room for new"

6 year old approved!

I really enjoyed this children's book about Passover traditions in Gondar, Ethiopia. Beautiful illustrations and I learned a lot in a short time. This book will be interesting for children and adults who want to know more about Ethiopian Jews and their culture. The traditions with breaking and remaking pottery reminded me of the Japanese art of kintsugi.