Review: Shabbat Shalom, Let's Rest and Reset
Shabbat Shalom, Let's Rest and Reset
written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman
Rise x Penguin Workshop, 2025
In Shabbat Shalom, Let’s Rest and Reset, author and illustrator Suzy Ultman speaks directly to the youngest readers and distills the concept of Shabbat for them. Using kid friendly language, she helps them to connect to the idea of a Sabbath rest in ways that they can understand. This is a challenge, as Shabbat is usually described as a day that we refrain from work. But…three-year-olds don’t usually have 9-5 to five jobs! So how to put it in terms that connect to them and their lives? Ultman brilliantly does so by saying that Shabbat is different. All the others day of the week are for DOING, while Shabbat is for BEING.
She also recognizes how different personalities will best each enjoy the Shabbat their own way—some will enjoy with family, while others will enjoy just being alone. But at its core, Shabbat is the time that, “we let our minds and bodies and hearts relax.”
Ultman’s illustrations are fantastic. Vividly colored, graphic and bold, they are perfectly suited for a board book format. They also include smiles on all sorts of objects, from bowls to slow cooker pots to ladybugs to mice. There is plenty of exciting content to visually discover, yet because of her crisp clear style, the pages fill uncluttered and pleasing to the eye.
The Jewish content is joyful and celebrated. I was surprised that other than Shabbat candlesticks, other Shabbat objects (like challah and grape juice) were not included when the Shabbat able is shown. Challah does appear elsewhere in the book. And the overall message of Shabbat as a day of calm is beautifully represented and shared.
Editor's Note: This book was included on the Association of Jewish Libraries' Spring 2025 Holiday Highlights list.
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