Sadie and her lit­tle broth­er, Ori, know all about Hanukkah and Passover and Purim, but La Ba’omer is a mys­tery to them. With the help of their grand­fa­ther and oth­er adults, they dis­cov­er the his­to­ry and tra­di­tions of this minor holiday.

Sadie’s Lag Ba’Omer Mys­tery is a great intro­duc­tion to the hol­i­day. Young chil­dren can relate to Sadie and Ori and their ​‘detec­tive work’ as they uncov­er infor­ma­tion. Korn­gold explains Lag Ba’omer in sim­ple lan­guage and edu­cates using pos­i­tive aspects of the hol­i­day. The story’s end­ing, with the chil­dren celebrat­ing with their fam­i­ly, might inspire read­ers to have a pic­nic and build a bon­fire in hon­or of the great Rab­bi Shi­mon Bar Yochai.

The col­or­ful, dig­i­tal­ly paint­ed illus­tra­tions invite read­ers into the action, from study­ing with Rab­bi Shi­mon in a cave in the Roman era to singing by a camp­fire today. Those who are fans of the oth­er ​“Sadie” books by Korn­gold and Forten­ber­ry will enjoy the lat­est one as will any­one want­i­ng a sim­ple intro­duc­tion to Lag Ba’omer.

In addi­tion to the sto­ry, the book includes a brief appen­dix of fac­tu­al infor­ma­tion about the holiday. 

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 4 – 8.

Relat­ed Content:

• Sadie and the Big Moun­tain by Jamie Korn­gold; Julie Forten­ber­ry, illus.
• Sadie’s Sukkah Break­fast by Jamie Korn­gold; Julie Forten­ber­ry, illus.
• Sadie’s Almost Mar­velous Meno­rah by Jamie Korn­gold; Julie Forten­ber­ry, illus.