Mazel Tov!: It's a Boy/Mazel Tov!: It's a Girl

PreS-K—A contemporary Jewish family celebrates the birth of a male baby. His big sister narrates and explains in simple terms the custom of the bris on the eighth day to give the baby his Hebrew name and welcome him into the Jewish community. The term mohel is used, but there is no mention of the circumcision. Flip the book over, and the same little girl introduces a new baby sister. A simchat bat, a special naming ceremony for baby girls, is depicted. These significant life cycle events are illustrated with large, full-color, candid photographs that exude joy, warmth, and a strong sense of family and community. In "It's a Girl," the text states that "The cantor leads us in singing Hebrew songs," but three pages later, the same clergyman is depicted as the text states, "The rabbi blesses my mommy and daddy and the baby." Despite this inconsistency, the book will certainly find a receptive audience among liberal Jewish families anticipating the arrival of a new baby.