Purim adventures and fun

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

When Jacob’s chosen Purim costume is replaced with a wonky assortment of clothing and accessories, and his poppyseed hamantashen taste like brussel sprouts and hot chili sauce, he suspects that something is wrong. When his friend, Sarah, shows up on his doorstep, bursting with excitement over similar mysterious mix-ups, the young friends know for sure that something is wrong.

Jacob and Sarah first were introduced in Karen Fisman’s An Adventure in Latkaland: A Hanukkah Story. Stories of the pair’s bravery and wit have reached Purimville, so it’s to them that the leader of the hamantashy, Poppy, turns when there is trouble, and the trio’s adventure is told in Fisman’s new children’s book, Problems in Purimville: A Purim Story.

While Jacob and Sarah take on a new look for this next holiday they must save, the story is equally as charming and fun as Fisman’s first. And, while illustrator Wendy Faust creates a more angular version of the young heroes for Purimville than Thomas McAteer did for Latkaland, the colorful drawings are just as inventive.

It’s hard to imagine that Fisman was once an equities analyst. According to her website (jorabooks.com), it was the birth of her children that contributed to her change in career path: “She wrote a whole bunch of stuff for a whole lot of grownups. But after her children were born, she realized that it was much more fun to write for kids. And that’s what she has been doing ever since.” Both Purimville and Latkaland are dedicated to J.J. and Rachel, with Purimville’s dedication reading, “For J.J. and Rachel, for whom anything is possible,” and this is certainly one of the main messages in both action mysteries, which are targeted toward the four- to eight-year-old set.

Latkaland was a 2010 Jewish Book Network selection and Purimville made the list this year. The network connects authors, publishers and others in the industry from across North America, and is under the auspices of the decades-old, New York-based Jewish Book Council, the stated mission of which is: “Promote the reading, writing and publishing of quality Jewish content books. Serve as the resource centre for information about the North American Jewish literary scene. Serve as the coordinating body of Jewish literary activity in North America.”

Problems in Purimville takes place just days before the holiday and, so as not to spoil the story, the Independent will only share what’s written on the back cover: “After receiving a mysterious cry for help, the children find themselves in the muddled and mixed-up land of Purimville, where someone (or something) is making serious trouble.”

Purimville is not an educational book about the holiday of Purim, although it does give a brief description of the Mordechai and Esther story and mention some of the traditional ways in which we mark the holiday, mainly by dressing up and eating hamantashen. As with Fisman’s Chanukah tale, this story is more about the ideals we celebrate on the holidays: having self-confidence, being able to think strategically, being able to work well with others, having the courage to fight for one’s beliefs or to help one’s fellow people/creatures, trying another plan if the first one fails, etc.

Given the quality of Fisman’s first two books, it is good to know, from her website, that the author will be writing more Jacob and Sarah books, and that she is also “working on The Medici Adventure, a story set in 15th-century Florence and written for nine- [to] 12-year-old readers.”

Problems in Purimville: A Purim Story is a hardcover, full-color, 64-page book ($14.99), while An Adventure in Latkaland: A Hanukkah Story is now available in a 64-page, full-color softcover version ($8.50). Both are available at Chapters and Indigo stores across Canada and online, from amazon.com and the following bookstores in Toronto: Type Books, Mastermind Toys, Oink Oink, Batner Bookstore, Israel’s Judaica and Negev Book Store.

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