Article: ‘Animals, crackers and a magical visit', as featured by

Jewish Chronicle, 12th March 2021

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this story- its an adaptation of a folktale, though this is the first time I read/heard it. The illustrations were breathtaking. It looks like it was done with color pencils, but the details and shading made them amazing.

NetGalley, Pamela D

The Magician's Visit by Isaac Leib Peretz is a unique story with one of the most beautiful sets of illustrations I have ever seen.

Passover is occurring, and as people walk by they see a Magician! He's hard to miss, honestly. He had magical abilities no one had ever seen before, it was mind boggling and incredible! A poor couple, Rebecca and Jonah, meet the Magician. He comes to help the couple, and brings some truly magnificent events in the process.

I can easily seeing this become a classic Passover read, especially with the gorgeous illustrations!

NetGalley, Briar Ramses

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is a truly heartwarming story about sharing and blessings. Regardless your religion, this is one interesting book to learn about how others celebrated their life.

Moreover, what amazed me are the pretty illustrations drawn with 3 main colors. Usually the pretty ones are the one with multicolored, but this one did surprised me.

NetGalley, Jo Clairefontaine

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I found this book while discussing the different religions and certain holidays with my son. This was a wonderful, easily processed and understood book about Passover. The illustrations are very pretty and add much to the story.

NetGalley, Joni Owens

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A gorgeous book in every way, this will quickly become a Passover classic. For those who aren’t Jewish, it will make a good resource for teaching children about another religion and culture. I’m looking forward to sharing it with the children in my life next year.

NetGalley, Morris Morgan

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I thought that this book was really, really lovely and each page was a delight. It was a magical read in so many ways!

The images in the book suit the story perfectly and it is a story that I loved reading with my daughter. It has a lovely flow to it and it is very well written too.

I thought that the characters were lovely and the message of belief was great and this is just the perfect book to read and share with a loved one – it had a great moral to the story.

It is 5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended!

NetGalley, Donna Maguire

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is a very special children's book, which is spiritual and magical. It has really amazing artwork and a beautiful story. The story is about Jonah and Rebecca who have no money to buy the items and food they need to celebrate Passover. On Seder night a magician comes to help them celebrate and he brings them all that they need. They have a magical time! I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

NetGalley, Catherine Craig (Angelic Light)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

"The Magician's Visit" is a wonderful Passover story, brilliantly illustrated, and full of warmth. A beautiful message of generosity, gratitude, and hope. This book would be a welcome addition to any library collection.

NetGalley, Kristin Hare

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A couple is rewarded for their generosity in the nicest possible manner on Passover.

I did not know this tale before I read the book, I merely reached for it because I am in the mood for picture books, the cover is beautiful and I never read a Jewish picture book, which I considered a hole in my reading.

This is very atmospheric. The detailed illustrations look like coloured pencils to me and a very nice colour palette was chosen to accompany the text. You could lose yourself in these pictures.

At the back of the book there is a short explanation of Passover, what Sedar is, and some further terms I mostly didn't know. So this book is another instance of learning while being entertained, which is the best kind of learning because you're most likely to retain some knowledge.
I hope that this will not only bring joy to Jewish readers but also that other people will reach for it, like I did, and learn something, and be it only that there is more on this planet than Christianity.

NetGalley, Kim Deinaß

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A really impressive book, that will manage to find a home in schools and educational centres, and also be a volume gifted throughout the Jewish communities of the world. While a village is amazed by the arrival of a wondrous magician at the start of Passover, a down-on-their-luck couple cannot think of celebrating with their own Seder meal, until a strange visitor offers a solution – but is it a real answer to their problems, or just an illusion? I can't say I know anything of the original, pre-WWI telling of this story, but the text here in this adaptation is perfectly fine for a full family audience. And the visuals are just incredible – pretty much all just pastel pinks and blues, warping into a tiny tint of other colours very sparingly, and conveying the magic of the whole scenario in wonderful, wondrous ways. Everything is perfectly presented, and perfectly respectful of the rituals of the Seder, the people who might not have afforded it from no fault of their own, and the history of the entire festival of Passover. I find this to be a book that's just impossible to quibble over.

NetGalley, John Lloyd

Lovely heartwarming tale, that touches on the celebration of Passover, and some of the traditions they have.

NetGalley, Kirstie Jones