Three children experience a fantastic, time-traveling adventure during their Passover Seder in this wordless picture book. The story opens on a diverse group seated around a broad dinner table, Haggadot open in front of them. The Seder leader snaps a piece of matzah in two and puts one half in a bag: This is the Afikomen—the eating of which will eventually signal the end of the Seder—which the children, who have light-brown skin, promptly squirrel away. Crawling beneath the blue tablecloth, they magically emerge on the other side from a tent in ancient Egypt. There, along the banks of the Nile, they see a woman and her daughter sorrowfully place an infant—Moses!—into a floating basket. The children guide Moses away from dangers and discovery and toward his destination (Pharaoh’s daughter, who will raise him) as he drifts downriver. First, though, they stop to share a piece of matzo with him. Once he is safe, the children wave to Moses’s mother before making their return journey from tent to tablecloth, where they relinquish the Afikomen to end the night. Detailed ink and watercolor illustrations follow the imagined heroic actions of three children on a night when Jews around the world envision themselves within the Exodus story. (Ages 4-8)

Honor, Sydney Taylor Book Award

In this wordless time-travel adventure, three children at a Passover seder visit ancient Egypt to help baby Moses find his way safely to Pharaoh’s daughter.

When a family settles at the table for Passover, their dog nabs the afikomen bag (containing matzah used for the seder) and dives under the tablecloth. The children follow him and find themselves transported to ancient Egypt. There, they see baby Moses’ mother and sister Miriam placing him in a reed basket. The baby’s journey down the Nile is hazardous — he encounters several obstacles along the way, including a wily crocodile. Thanks to the three children, he reaches his destination unharmed, with a piece of afikomen tucked into his basket. The children return to the seder table and, exhausted, fall asleep. But what are their parents to make of the grains of sand in the afikomen bag?

Includes an author’s note about the meaning of the Passover holiday and about different afikomen traditions.

Key Text Features

author’s note

explanation

illustrations

literary references

panels

sources

wordless

Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3

With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3

Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7

Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.