Shoshana Banana has writ­ten anoth­er cre­ative lit­tle offer­ing which turns out to be more than sim­ply the sum of its parts. At first glance, this seems to be the light-heart­ed sto­ry of a young girl who is eager­ly await­ing a trip to get a man­i­cure and pedi­cure as a reward for good behav­ior, and is think­ing up cre­ative names for the nail pol­ish col­ors as her treat of a day pro­gress­es. On clos­er exam­i­na­tion, this is a child’s-view study of mitzvot and what they are all about; how it feels to per­form them, how the recip­i­ent of tzedakah may feel at his or end of the process, and how small rewards can help moti­vate a child to do what she already knows is right. Cre­ativ­i­ty and imag­i­na­tion play a part, as well, in inspir­ing chil­dren to stretch to their finest moral heights.

The spark­ly nail-pol­ish-col­or-and-gold-star motif of the art is appro­pri­ate to the theme of the sto­ry and oh-so-cute.

An author’s note tells more about the con­cept of mitz­vah as well as the use of moti­va­tion and reward as tools for moral education.