Bryna J. Fireside

Far from home as Passover approaches, Private J.A. Joel decides to organize a seder for himself and for the other twenty Jewish members of the 23rd Ohio Regiment, fighting for the Union during the American Civil War. Here, in the mountains of West Virginia, Joel and his friends, joined by three African-American soldiers, all former slaves, cobble together everything they need for the occasion, making do with what they have. Cider rather than wine, a symbolic brick rather than charoset - while their seder may not be traditional in some sense, it captures the spirit of Passover very well, connecting the ancient story of the Hebrews, and their flight out of Egypt, with the then contemporary struggle to end slavery in America. The book closes with an afterward about the real-life story behind the fictionalized retelling...

After recently reading and enjoying Elka Weber and John Winch's The Yankee at the Seder, another true story of a Passover seder during or immediately after the American Civil War, I decided to seek out Private Joel and the Sewell Mountain Seder as well, in order to contrast and compare. This is a somewhat more advanced title, being quite textually dense for a picture-book, and tells an interesting story. The makeshift aspect of the seder celebration felt authentic - after all, Private Joel and his compatriots would have had a difficult time coming by everything they needed, on a mountaintop in West Virginia - and the comparisons between the story of Passover, and of the Exodus, on the one hand, and the fight against modern-day slavery on the other, felt quite appropriate. The drunkenness of the soldiers, after drinking a little too much cider, was unexpected in a children's book, but also amusing. I don't think this one was as well-written or as engaging as the Weber/Winch title, but it was certainly well worth reading. Recommended to more advanced picture-book readers looking for Passover and/or Civil War stories.… (more)

A young Jewish Union soldier realizes Passover is approaching and he will be far from home. Together with the other Jewish men of his unit, his commanding officer, and three freed slaves of a nearby Negro Regiment, he arranges all they will need to hold seders and observe the holiday. Somehow he manages to get matzah, cider, lamb, even haggadahs, and with a little ingenuity (and not a little cider), the men hold a memorable set of seders in West Virginia.

This fictionalized account is based on memoirs and records researched by the author. I highly recommend it for primary aged children. It is an easy to read, brief chapter book, fully illustrated, with a historical research note at the end.… (more)