Review: It's a Mitzvah!
It's a Mitzvah! Small Deeds with Big Heart
written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman
Rise x Penguin Workshop, 2025
Category: Board Books
Reviewer: Elizabeth Suneby
It's A Mitzvah: Small Deeds with Big Heart joins two previous Jewish-themed board books (I Like Your Chutzpah and Shabbat Shalom) that Ultman has written and illustrated. In her latest, she continues her trademark bright colors, bold graphics, and cute drawings of people and animals that appeal to little ones. She uses the kid-friendly refrain "I like when..." to introduce the concept of good deeds/mitzvot, such as telling the truth, asking questions, and even rescuing an earthworm stranded on the sidewalk! She follows each "I like" statement with "It's ..." with the Hebrew word for the good deed showcased. Last, she includes a parenthetical description of each mitzvah. (FYI, rescuing an earthworm is tikkun olam, the mitzvah of repairing the world.)
While there are a few children's books with the same or similar titles (It's a... It's a ... It's a Mitzvah by Liz Suneby and Diane Heiman; It's a Mitzvah: Really important things you should (and shouldn't) do by Julie Merberg; and It's a Mitzvah, Grover by Tilda Balsley), there's always room for more good deeds in the world, especially with Ultman's fun, upbeat, and humorous new title.
This board book shares 9 of the 613 commandments in the Torah. It helps children see the importance of being kind to all people, creatures, and themselves, and it inspires adults to model tikkun olam. While most Jewish adults are familiar with the 10 commandments, Ultman's book will broaden their view of relevant Jewish values for living a moral life and hopefully pique their interest in finding out about the remaining 604 mitzvot in the Torah.
While there are a few children's books with the same or similar titles (It's a... It's a ... It's a Mitzvah by Liz Suneby and Diane Heiman; It's a Mitzvah: Really important things you should (and shouldn't) do by Julie Merberg; and It's a Mitzvah, Grover by Tilda Balsley), there's always room for more good deeds in the world, especially with Ultman's fun, upbeat, and humorous new title.
This board book shares 9 of the 613 commandments in the Torah. It helps children see the importance of being kind to all people, creatures, and themselves, and it inspires adults to model tikkun olam. While most Jewish adults are familiar with the 10 commandments, Ultman's book will broaden their view of relevant Jewish values for living a moral life and hopefully pique their interest in finding out about the remaining 604 mitzvot in the Torah.
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Reviewer Elizabeth Suneby is an award-winning author with several
Jewish-themed books, including two soon-to-be-available board books
published by PJ Library--SAY SHALOM ALL DAY LONG (10.1.25) and
CHALAHBALOO (1.1.26) available on Amazon. Both board books were inspired
by her trip to Israel with the 3rd cohort of the PJ Library Author
Israel Adventure in 2023.
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