The Passover Parrot, 2nd Edition

by Evelyn Zusman, Kyrsten Brooker (Illustrator)

It's Lily's turn to say the Four Questions at the Passover Seder, but nobody will help her practice. Things change with the arrival of Hametz the Parrot. Clever Hametz not only helps Lily but solves the puzzle of who stole the afikomen! Back by popular demand, the newly illustrated The Passover Parrot will delight a new generation of children.

Genres: Picture Books, Jewish, Religion, Judaism, Fiction, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1983

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the "notable" picture books of the 2019 Sydney Taylor Awards. First published in 1983, it was reissued in 2018 with new illustrations for its 35th anniversary. The story is lightly humorous, as a Brooklyn family receives a pet parrot from a woman who is moving away. Young Lily takes over care of the parrot. As Pesach approaches, she practices the 4 questions in front of the parrot who also learns all of the songs. The parrot does cause a bit of a kerfuffle during the Passover meal. The multi-media illustrations depict a warm and loving family preparing for and participating in an important feast.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When no will listen to her practice the four questions for Passover, Lily sings them to her parrot. When he sneakily takes the afikomen Lily has hidden in her room, she uses their practice to get it back.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a fan of the illustrations at all. It's just not a style I like, but the story was quite good! I liked it and the parrot. The story kept my interest although I did not like that Papa sent the parrot to go upstairs.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another story that's cute, if not particularly profound. I'm kind of mixed about the art: mostly it's good, with some nice detail, though the painted style sometimes makes the faces look weird.

[Shoshanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, heimish, childhood, Brooklyn. So nice!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a family's Passover celebration. The main character, Leba, practices the Four Questions in Hebrew with the family's pet parrot. The parrot learns the questions with her and then steals some Passover matzah.
The illustrations in this book were terrific. In this copy is green and monochromatic.
This book is written for someone who is familiar with the Jewish Passover feast. It wouldn't be a good book for an introduction to the Passover tradition.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a family’s Passover celebration. The main character Leba receives a parrot from her neighbor. Leba practices a Passover Seder tradition, saying the four questions with her new parrot. The parrot turns out to be more of a disaster than a loving pet.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't care for this story much as a child, but I like it much more now. The ending is rushed, but I like the Passover story and the illustrations are detailed and beautiful.