Creatively imagined and artistically rendered, thispicture book tells the simple story of a family of whole, sliced, andsegmented fruits and vegetables who lives in a very small house constructedof matzah.Kitzel the cat, who narrates the story, is made entirelyout of an orange. His head and body are each half an orange, while his mouthand feet are orange segments. The mother is a veritable salad ofparts: her head is an onion with onion-skin hair; her mouth and body are vividred peppers; and her arms and legs are carrots. Two pieces of parsley serveas eyelashes and eyebrows. Other family members are similarly tastyand amusingly named: Avo, the avocado brother; Celeria, the stalky sisterwho is flexible enough for gymnastics; and a whole pantry full of innovative,crunchy others.It is almost Pesach. After disinviting some chametzfriends personified by a bagel, a piece of cake, a roll,a donut, and a challah, the family worries whether they will haveenough space in their teeny tiny matzah house to conduct a seder. Familyand friends arrive in a variety of edible conveyances, includinga carrot airplane, a cheese helicopter, and a floatinghot-air watermelon. Some friends join remotely via a computer screenframed in celery. The seder proceeds deliciously with traditional, joyfulretellings, songs, and, of course, afikomen-hunting. As in the traditionalJewish folktale, retold in many versions, the previously crowded housefeels spacious when the guests have departed.The story is simple, but the art is ingenious. Directionsfor making a cat out of an orange are included — a fun, Passover-friendlyproject sure to engage parents and children who are looking for an unusualand innovative kitchen activity to work on together.--Michal Malen, The Jewish Book CouncilTold from the perspective of the house cat Kitzel, Bill and Claire Wurtzel’s In Our Teeny Tiny Matzah House is about a family who lives in a crowded teeny tiny matzah house and needs to prepare for Passover and the seder. The illustrations use photographs of ordinary foods (such as oranges, cottage cheese, celery, peppers, cantaloupe, avocado, strawberries, bananas, carrots and more) in extraordinary ways giving rise to expressions on the characters' faces that are simply remarkable. Favorites of this reviewer included the Statue of Liberty with broccoli torch, Souperman with a matzah ball nose, Mat Zahbrei, Cantor Loupe and Flankenella. Back matter includes step-by-step instructions to make Kitzel.The story mentions many elements of Passover and the seder including ridding the house of bread (watch that donut with wafer hair walk away!), asking the Four Questions, listing the ten plagues, searching for the afikomen, singing Dayeinu, and of course, having guests to celebrate it all with, whether in person or remotely. But in addition to being a fun-to-read book, the magic of the storyline is brought out through the uniqueness of the food art illustrations. As such, readers may enjoy this book long after Passover has ended by trying to replicate the many characters within and coming up with their own original creations. Overall, an excellent addition to bookshelves for children of all ages and faiths that stimulates imagination, creativity and viewing art through an entirely different lens.--Freidele Galya Soban Binaishvili, Sydney Taylor Schmooze
