In Awe-some Days: Poems About the Jew­ish Hol­i­days, read­ers fol­low a sweet fam­i­ly of five and their com­mu­ni­ty through the Jew­ish year, cel­e­brat­ing both well-known and less­er-known hol­i­days. Each hol­i­day is intro­duced with a descrip­tive poem that explains its tra­di­tions in a way that will res­onate with chil­dren. Of Yom Kip­pur, author Mar­i­lyn Singer writes, ​“No cake, no hon­ey, and for me, no soc­cer, no TV.”

Singer, who aims to be inclu­sive, pairs fac­tu­al descrip­tions of the hol­i­days with each poem. She men­tions how more obser­vant Jews cel­e­brate the hol­i­days, as well as how they are cel­e­brat­ed in Israel. The book ends with a note about the Jew­ish cal­en­dar and resources for more information.

Dana Wulfekotte, the book’s illus­tra­tor, brings each cel­e­bra­tion to life with her detailed and relat­able pen­cil draw­ings of a self­ie-tak­ing, mess-mak­ing Jew­ish fam­i­ly of five and their two pets, a cat and a bunny.

This engag­ing book is great, first and fore­most, for fam­i­lies. But with its illus­tra­tions, poems, and acces­si­ble facts, it includes some­thing for everyone.