Robot Shabbat

PreS–Venture into outer space and enjoy the preparations for Shabbat with a young girl and her family on a distant planet. The story is told in short rhyming phrases and repetitive onomatopoeia that will have young readers chiming in with a “Clunk, clunk, clunk” or “Bang, bang, bang” of their own. The setting is reminiscent of “The Jetsons” cartoons, with domed houses on stilts, hovercraft zipping by, and even a robotic friend that the girl assembles. Together, the girl and her bot “vroom” around the house, snipping flowers for the table, stirring soup, and baking bread. Once the candles are lit and the blessings are sung, the pace slows and the sounds quiet from the bang of construction to the tearing of bread. Finally, both the girl and bot snuggle into bed at the end of a busy day. A “Dear Reader” note in the back discusses the meaning of Shabbat and refers to details from the story.