Max Makes a Cake

PreS-Gr 2—Max is quite proud of himself. He can dress himself and almost tie his shoes, and he knows the Four Questions for Passover in both Hebrew and English. He's more than happy to show off this skill to baby sister, Trudy, who will, according to tradition, ask the questions at the Seder meal herself one day. In the meantime, though, he wants to "hurry, hurry, hurry" like the Israelites out of Egypt in order to bake a surprise birthday-Passover cake for Mama. He and Daddy will make it with a special Passover mix while Trudy naps. But the baby's fussiness keeps getting in the way of best-laid plans. Frustrated, Max decides to take matters into his own hands. Cream cheese and red jam mixed together make a delicious frosting. But what about the cake? Getting creative, the youngster fashions a "layer" cake (matzoh-frosting-matzoh) for the perfect "hurry, hurry, hurry" Passover cake. Santoso's realistic digital renderings of Max's face capture the expressions of one determined little boy. A recipe and a short description of the Passover story are included. A light introduction to a Jewish holiday.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA