Afikoman, Where’d You Go? A Passover Hide and Seek Adventure

There’s a concept in both the written and visual arts called the Easter egg, in which the artist includes small hints or tidbits for those in their fandom to find. These references will completely fly over the heads of most readers, but for those in the know, it can add a whole new layer of complexity by providing additional activities for the reader to engage in over subsequent reads. I love the concept, but I don’t feel comfortable using a term involving a Christian holiday when it comes to my Jewish themed work. I was therefore thrilled to learn that several Jewish authors describe this concept in their work as an “Afikomen” instead, after the piece of matzah that is hidden during the Passover seder, and then hunted down by Seder participants. 

In Afikoman, Where’d You Go, the two concepts meet – with the story being about a literal Afikomen, but also involving hidden pictures for the reader to find. 

At their best, picture books allow both the text and the illustration to tell part of the story. Ideally, one aspect cannot work without the other. In addition, it is my preference that while books are being read by a caregiver (or in some adorable situations an older child who knows how to read) the child being read to should be to interact with the the story through the illustration. In Afikoman Where’d You Go?, there is a story for the adults to follow and read but the main activity actually belongs to the child searching the illustrations for hidden matzah. 

The story follows the children gathered at a Seder as they search for a very sneaky Afikomen. On each page an animated Afikomen is indeed hiding amongst the diverse Seder participants and the readers must find it. I can attest that having taken my copy of the book out into the wild and read it to children, or observed them reading to each other, that they really enjoy this hide and seek aspect of the book. There were races to see who would find the matzah first and a lot of consternation when it becomes apparent that the Afikomen is actually slated to be eaten! 

The sneaky Afikomen manages to avoid the fate of being consumed and the children, both in the book and in real life, were delighted to follow its exploits. The book was interactive and likely to be easier for parents to read over and over again than books without this additional element. The only complaint I received was from children confused as to why I was reading them a Passover book before it was even Purim yet. Overall, that’s a pretty high praise from a tough to please age demographic. 

Note: BookishlyJewish received a copy of the book from the publisher after it was suggested in our Suggest A Book form.

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