Ahead of Passover this spring, we are pleased to welcome one of our store’s best-selling authors from 2021 for a visit to the store. Susan Kusel will share her children’s book, THE PASSOVER GUEST, and answer your questions about the book, which just won the Sydney Taylor Book Award!
Susan is a synagogue librarian and children's book buyer for an independent bookstore. She has served as a member of the Caldecott Medal selection committee and the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee.
--> This event is free, but you MUST
Capacity in the store is limited to 40 people, so please register to be sure you get in. Proof of COVID vaccination will be required at the door. (See the Eventbrite registration page for more about our COVID precautions.)
If you can not attend in person, please register for an online ticket and join us on Facebook or YouTube.
Muriel assumes her family is too poor to hold a Passover Seder this year-- but an act of kindness and a mysterious magician change everything.
It's the Spring of 1933 in Washington D.C., and the Great Depression is hitting young Muriel's family hard. Her father has lost his job, and her family barely has enough food most days, let alone for a Passover Seder. They don't even have any wine to leave out for the prophet Elijah's ceremonial cup.
With no feast to rush home to, Muriel wanders by the Lincoln Memorial, where she encounters a mysterious magician in whose hands juggled eggs become lit candles. After she makes a kind gesture, he encourages her to run home for her Seder, and when she does, she encounters a holiday miracle, a bountiful feast of brisket, soup, and matzah.
But who was this mysterious benefactor? When Muriel sees Elijah's ceremonial cup is empty, she has a good idea.
This fresh retelling of the classic I.L. Peretz story, best known through Uri Shulevitz's 1973 adaptation The Magician, has been sumptuously illustrated by noted graphic novelist Sean Rubin, who based his art on photographs of D.C. in the 1930s. An author note with information about the holiday is included.
