Shoshi's Shabbat by Caryn Yacowitz, Kevin Hawkes
Published by Candlewick Press on October 11, 2022
ISBN: 1536216542
Pages: 48
Genres: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Humor
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads

The value of rest, gratitude, and communing with nature practiced on the Shabbat is explained via this charming picture book. Based on a traditional Jewish folk tale, this book provides readers with a historical understanding of the day of rest. An older farmer declares that he is retiring from plowing his fields, so he sells his reliable ox to a new, younger neighbor. On the seventh day, Shoshi the ox refuses to work. The text explores the interaction of humans and animals while exposing the joys of taking a restful day each week.

Hawkes’ illustrations bring the story to life; readers will smell the grass and dust dirt off their own shoes. The faces of both men and the all-important ox reveal deep emotion. Background colors vary as the sun rises and sets over the hills and fields near Jerusalem. This book provides exposure to a wonderful Jewish tradition. Public libraries and primary school media centers should add this creative book to their collections, and it would also have a place in church, temple, or mosque libraries.

Reviewed by Jan Hamilton, retired children’s librarian