Often, the stories most loved by children are ones that feature phrases that are repeated over and over during the course of a story. Well-crafted phrases, easily remembered and evocative of a particular story, are music to young ears. They are the hooks that grab a young child's interest and keeps her returning to the story, begging her parents to read it again and again
till it is so familiar that she can "read" it herself.

Children's literature is filled with such stories. What child doesn¹t know the Little Red Hen's lament, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling"? Or, say the phrase "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?" to preschoolers and they almost invariably will respond, "I see a red bird looking at me."

These classic tales are a mainstay of children¹s literature and Naomi Howland's The Matzah Man, patterned after another classic, The Gingerbread Man, follows in the tradition of these cumulative stories.

Mr. Cohen, the baker, has a bit of matzah dough left at the end of the day and he molds it into the shape of a little man and puts it in the oven to bake. After a while, he opens the oven and the Matzah Man jumps out and chants:

Hot from the oven I jumped and I ran,
So clever and quick, I'm the Matzah Man!

He runs out of the bakery and into the street. The baker cries "Stop, Matzah Man!" and begins to chase him. As Matzah Man runs through the village, he encounters animals and people who want to eat him. As he approaches each, he cries:

Hot from the oven I jumped and I ran,
So clever and quick, I'm the Matzah Man!

When he runs away from those who want to eat him, Matzah Man says:

I¹ve run from the baker whose matzah is best, and 
ka-naidle, ka-noodle, ka-noo 
    I¹ll run away from you, too!

And so it goes in this delightful additive tale. With every person and animal that joins the chase, Matzah Man adds to his chant:

I've run from the baker whose matzah is best,
and from the red hen who left eggs in her nest,
from old Cousin Tillie with brisket-filled pan,
and big Auntie Bertha, in high heels she ran,
then Grandpapa Solly, from onions he's crying
and then from Miss Axelrod, matzah balls flying and
ka-naidle, ka-noodle, ka-noo 
    I¹ll run away from you, too!

Finally, Matzah Man encounters young Mendel Fox, who offers to hide him. As Mendel's table is set for the seder, he urges Matzah Man to lay down under the cloth used to cover the seder matzoh. When everyone gathers at Mendel's door and asks where Matzah Man is, Mendel just shrugs. Since they can't find Matzah Man, they all sit down for the seder.

To begin the seder, Grandpapa Solly reaches under the matzoh cover and breaks the matzoh. It's passed from person to person and everyone, including the animals, takes a bite of matzoh and exclaims how tasty it is. And Matzah Man is no more.

The pictures in good picture books stand by themselves. They tell the story as well and as fully as do the words. Howland's pictures, a combination of gouache (painting with opaque water colors), cut-paper collage and colored pencils, are no exception. They are bright and colorful. The people and animals are full of expression and the paintings are filled with interesting
detail sure to catch the eye and pique the interest of young readers everywhere.

The Matzah Man is wonderful addition to every Passover library.