Snyder imagines a Jewish child's point of view of the whole Passover story, from enslavement through the ten plagues through fleeing Egypt. ( )

The Longest Night is a poem that tells of the plagues and the Jewish slaves in Egypt. I love the simple rhyming scheme but some of the phrases are a bit abstract because of the medium (poetry). The story of the Passover told as a poem is an interesting way to introduce Judaism to children. Not so much in the way of the religion's practices but their origin story. Set in ancient Egypt, before the coming of Moses, the Jewish were enslaved and all were treated poorly. These plagues were taken as curses or signs from God to the Pharaoh release them from slavery. I think this poem would have a greater impact if children had some background before reading it. ( )

In my opinion, this book was not the best. Although the illustrations were nice, the book was confusing. I am familiar with the story of the red sea, but I didn't realize that that was what the book was telling until the part where the see parted. Therefore, I think it may be confusing for a younger child to read the book and get a full understanding. Additionally, the writing didn't flow as well as it could have. Overall, I think that although this is a great story, it may leave children readers with little understanding of the story and some confusion. ( )

This book was very poetic. The language was very rhythmic and flowed well with some rhyming. I rated this book a 4 because I felt it has a strong message about the Jewish passover but it was quite difficult to understand even as an adult. An example of the rhyming language is on page one the author writes, "...morning with the light...came another day like night." This helps tell the story about passover while also using poetic language. The story would be better analyzed and read to the older elementary aged children (3rd-4th) because these children have more developed brains and can analyze poetic devices better than first or second graders. The message of this book shows the hardships Jewish people have faced and how sacred Passover is to them. The part of the book about the parting of the Red Sea is when I really started to understand the book and how much of an emotional book the author takes this as. I would recommend this book to teachers who are teaching about different religions or cultures to do with Judaism or poetry. There are many things to do with the book regarding lessons. ( )

This is the story of Passover and the 10 plagues. The story is told through a young girl, which adds to the story a lot. I think this book would teach students about Jewish traditions, as well as, I really enjoyed the way the book was written in two rhyming stanzas. I think younger children would enjoy reading it this way. I also liked the illustrations in the book. They were more like watercolors and I think it adds to the solemn mood during the hard times for the young girl. I do think this book might be difficult for children to understand, unless they are already familiar with the tradition. I, as an adult, was confused with some of the content and had to reread the book multiple times, so I do not see children being able to understand. ( )