Description:
Who has the most amazing sukkah in the Abayudaya community of Uganda? Only one sukkah can be the best, but everybody wins when neighbors work together.
Review Quotes: Sukkot is coming to the small Ugandan Abayudaya Jewish community. We share the fun with super competitive Shoshi and her two brothers as they build their own sukkah, hoping theirs wins the annual village competition. The vibrant linoleum cut artwork brings the reader right into life in the village, showing us the natural environment and day to day lives of the people. When a wild storm comes through the night before Sukkot, it damages all the huts, totally destroying the challenging front runner's sukkah. The whole village rallies, helping to rebuild this one, which wins the contest. But Shoshi doesn't mind, her competitive streak has mellowed as she learns, "Everyone wins when neighbors work together". Generous backmatter includes a history of the Abayudaya Jewish community, a glossary of Luganda words used in the text and the lovely bonus of the Luganda text of Hinei Ma Tov. Their rabbi's teaching about the lulav, with its three different types of branches laced together, much as people are joined together in a community, is a wonderful message of hope for our world. The Very Best Sukkah meets all the requirements for consideration for a Sydney Taylor Book Award. Of most significance, the author is a member of the Ugandan Abayudaya Jewish community and is able to bring this world to life accurately in a way children can easily relate to. The writing is clear and appropriate for the target audience in a smooth style, helping to bridge cultural differences. The pictures are vivid and engaging, helping to make foods, animals, plants and other unfamiliar items mentioned in the text easy to visualize. It is consistent in its positive Jewish religious content surrounding Shabbat and the holiday of Sukkot with details unique to this community. This book was included in the Association of Jewish Libraries' Fall 2022 Holiday Highlights list for the best Jewish holiday books for children of the fall 2022 publishing season.--Suzanne Grossman "Association of Jewish Libraries / Syndey Taylor Shmooze"