(4) K-3 Illustrated by Francesca Assirelli. Grandma tells Talia the story of Purim while they bake hamantaschen; Talia's fanciful mishearing of the cookie's name gives it a bum rap in her eyes until Grandma sets her straight. Bright, warm illustrations--purple-tinged in the portions showing Queen Esther et al.--are stronger than the thinly plotted text. "Talia's Haman-TUSHIES" recipe is appended (adult supervision required).

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Francesca Assirelli. Linguistic puns propel Talia's tale of Yom (a.k.a. "Yum") Kippur. Misunderstanding the term fasting, for example, Talia thinks "it must be a very fast day if no one had time for breakfast." The stylized illustrations' warm palette matches the warm relationship between Talia and her grandparents. Like Talia and the Rude Vegetables, this is a bit far-fetched but entertaining.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Francesca Assirelli. Talia is confounded by her grandmother's request for some "rude vegetables" (carrots, turnips, potatoes, etc.) for the Rosh Hashanah stew. While digging up an "ornery onion" and "garish garlic," she thinks about her own behavior; all ends with holiday sweetness. The joke goes on a little long, but the end is rewarding. Autumnal colors and rounded shapes evoke comfortable family scenes.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax