Getting in Touch With Your Inner Only Kid

The goal of this email is to lighten up your Friday night dinner table. Please print and share.

IMPORTANT LATE-BREAKING NEWS - the updated Amazing Jewish Fact-a-Day Calendar for smart phone or tablet is finally out! If your app stopped working, please install this week's update. If you never got the app, as a special promotion it is FREE on iTunes through Sunday. (Google won't let me make it free for Android but here's the link anyway.) Please forward this to anyone you know who might possibly enjoy this app. Nothing to lose, much to gain

People ask what kinds of new props, toys and gifts I get each year for our Pesach Seder.

(Since my kids don't have internet access, I believe I can safely send this information without them finding out.)

First, inexpensive narrative props from Windy City Novelties:

Egyptian Pharaoh Hat - that's an obvious one.
Bloody Hand Print Window Clings - an interesting alternative to the usual cup of blood
Wild Animal Finger Puppets - guess what plague?
Metallic sun glasses - will bring them out when I mention how "for the children of Israel, there was no thunderstorm or hail, they were just enjoying a nice sunny day"
Death's Dagger - for the Death of Firstborn plague
Droopy Eye Glasses - also for Firstborn
Jumbo Diamond Child Size Rings - for when the Israelites leave town with "much wealth"
Black Beard with Elastic Band - OK, I haven't figured out how to use this one.

And that's my first question for you and your table - What's the best use of that last prop at the Seder?

Second, my Amazon list:

The stunning new book by our favorite Jewish kids book illustrator Gadi Pollock, From Darkness to Light.
The new Suspend game
Juggling Matza Balls (maybe I'll connect to plague of Hail)
Seder Plate Jigsaw Puzzle
For plague of Pestilence - animal magnets
For an adult: Rabbi Wohlberg's Un-Haggada
Gluten Free Hand Dipped Chocolate Coconut Macaroons OK, my parental health-conscience didn't permit me to order these, but if they happened to show up in our mailbox, I'm sure no one would object....

Third, here's an interesting question for your table tonight:

You know how the last song of the Passover Seder is Chad Gadya  - An Only Kid?

Ever stop to wonder what that's all about?

My father bought for 2 zuzim?

Then came the cat that ate the kid??

Hello? What kind of cat was that? A bobcat?

And then a dog bit the cat? Sounds nice but why?

The story is obviously symbolic. Each character (animals, a stick, a fire, the Angel of Death etc.) represents a major event in Jewish history.

Looking forward to your answers.

If you want my answer, you'll have to get the Art of Amazement Haggada (Amazon.com)

( Downloadable PDF version available here; full JSL Passover Kit downloadable here.)
Feeling a bit of Pesachphobia, also known as haggadaphobia and sometimes referred to as sederphobia?

Conquer that fear with the new 2014 edition of the Art of Amazement Haggada.

Shabbat Shalom


PS - Our public service site bestjewishkidsbooks.com has more links to great Pesach books and gifts, even matzah, believe it or not.

Haggada off the Press

As promised last Friday, here's the update on the new 2014 Art of Amazement Haggada and Passover Kit!

This innovative haggada turns you into a master story teller. Rather than placing commentary below the text, The Art of Amazement Haggada embeds the midrashic details into the text.
“Haggada” means “telling the story” and this haggada will empower you with the mastery of Midrash to keep your participants glued to their seats.
Completely revised and updated for 2014!
Features:
Designed and cross-referenced to be used with the participant “Freedom” edition, but will go well with any other haggados.

• Almost everything is transliterated and translated. Very little Hebrew.
• Suggestions of what parts to skip for less-religious or younger audience
• Midrashim and questions are embedded in the text so instead of looking down at footnotes or at a different book, it’s all there for you.
• Different suggested questions for 2nd Seder
• 12 Tips on how to prepare for and run a successful, engaging Seder.

To learn more about the Art of Amazement Haggada, including how to get a print-it-yourself PDF, click here.
To learn about the JSL Passover Kit click here.

Or cut to the chase and order your hard copies here:

1. Leader’s Edition — Paperback binding (Amazon.com)
2. Leader’s Edition — Spiral binding (longer delivery time)
3. Participant’s Edition — Paperback binding (Amazon.com)

Feeling a bit of Pesachphobia, also known as haggadaphobia and sometimes referred to as sederphobia?

You can conquer that fear with the new 2014 edition of the Art of Amazement Haggada.

PS - Our public service site bestjewishkidsbooks.com has been stocked with links to great Pesach books and gifts, even matzah, believe it or not.