Mrs. Katz and Tush (Reading Rainbow Book)

One day, Larnel gets the idea to give Mrs. Katz a kitten from the litter that was born in the basement of his apartment building. (Get the pun -- Katz/cats? Actually, the name "Katz" has nothing to do with "cats," but it's cute anyway.) Mrs. Katz names the kitten Tush, which is Yiddish for "bottom," because it has no tail. Larnel agrees to help her care for Tush, and from this sharing, a lifelong friendship grows.

The story is well-written, the characters are well-developed and "real." The illustrations are vibrant, beautifully done, and ethnically accurate. Well, almost. There are a couple Jewish bloopers. For one thing, the menorah sitting by Mrs. Katz's window only has seven branches. A Hanukkah menorah has nine -- eight for the eight days plus an extra for the "servant" candle. The seven-branched menorah mentioned in the Bible was specifically for the Jerusalem Temple, and is not usually found in the home. Since Hanukkah was mentioned in the story, I have to assume that this was supposed to be a Hanukkah menorah.

The second blooper is the scene in the bakery. Mrs. Katz is shopping for PASSOVER -- a time when no leaven is to be found anywhere in a Jewish home. It is not just a matter of eating matzoh. The entire house is cleaned of anything even resembling leaven, and even owning leavened products is forbidden. That being the case, why is she shopping for her Passover feast in a bakery, of all places? She is clearly pointing at a cake or some rolls, and these would NOT be served on Passover! So nu, maybe she's a Reform Jew and not so strict? But in that case, why is that very Hasidic-looking gentleman in the corner shopping there? Surely HE would not serve bread for Passover! (...)

These are relatively minor quibbles, given the overall good quality of the book. But when it comes to children's books, I insist on total accuracy with regard to Judaism, because these are the images that will stick in the mind for years to come. Granted, this is not a "Jewish" book per se, it's a multicultural book -- which is all the more reason to pay more attention to the Jewish details, lest the reader(s) be misled. For the bloopers I'm docking it a star, but it's still a great story and I highly recommend it to both Jews and gentiles.