One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe

by Dara Horn, Theo Ellsworth (illustrator)

A lost afikoman a time-traveling talking goat, and a never-ending seder illuminate the meaning of Passover in Dara Horn’s hilariously deadpan graphic novel.


A family sits at the Passover seder table, but cannot find their afikoman—the hidden matzah required to end the meal—and as a result, they are trapped at a seder that cannot end. Six months in, a wisecracking talking goat shows up at their door with bad Thousands of years of previous seders have accumulated underneath their seder, and their afikoman is stuck in one of them. Now the family’s “wise child” must travel down with the goat through centuries of previous Passovers to find it—and to discover the questions he needs to start asking.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Jewish, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Judaism, Comics

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 25, 2025

About the author

Dara Horn is the award-winning author of six books. One of Granta magazine’s Best Young American Novelists (2007), she is the recipient of three National Jewish Book Awards, among other honors, and she was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, the Wingate Prize, the Simpson Family Literary Prize, and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Her books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books, Booklist’s 25 Best Books of the Decade, and San Francisco Chronicle’s Best Books of the Year, and have been translated into twelve languages.

Her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Tablet, and The Jewish Review of Books, among many other publications.

Horn received her doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, studying Yiddish and Hebrew. She has taught courses in these subjects at Sarah Lawrence College and Yeshiva University, and held the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard. She has lectured for audiences in hundreds of venues throughout North America, Israel, and Australia.

She currently serves as Creative Adviser for The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.

She lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have a particular interest in Passover or Judaism, but my college magazine has a regular listing of recent books by alumni, and this was the first time I noticed a graphic novel included there so I thought I'd give it a go. (Must! Read! All! Graphic! Novels!)

An educational children's book about a religious holiday with alternative comix-style art didn't seem promising at first, but this loopy time travel story drew me in with its sassy talking goat and hapless protagonist. With his family trapped in seder limbo, it is up to the oldest son to crash through portals through space and time in search of the symbolic piece of matzah that will free them all.

A history lesson becomes a fun, twisty, bizarre adventure with a heart. Surprising and rousing.

[Lisa Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might make a good pre-Passover gift for middle grade readers. The story itself is engaging, but I didn't care for the art style, which made the text hard to read.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

The young protagonist of this graphic novel quips that Passover is “a holiday celebrating freedom, but you are stuck at that table for a very long time.”

But our frustrated protagonist — who jokingly refers to himself as the Wise Child — doesn’t know the half of it. When his baby sister loses the Afikomen (a hidden piece of matzah), it looks like the family may never be able to end this Seder! After all, it’s already been six months!

Cue the titular goat. He’s the scapegoat from the Seder song. This talking goat takes the Wise Child on a tour of Seders Past in a wonderful twist. I suspect Jews will love this book, but as a goy I did, too, proving you don’t have to be Jewish to love One Little Goat.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, W.W. Norton & Co. and Norton Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca Fried · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw some snippets of this book in Dara Horn's Kveller interview and it looks and sounds fantastic! Can't wait to get my hands on this.

Update:
I was able to snag an arc of this because of a wonderful coworker who received a copy and offered it to me. It was a very surreal reading experience and has a lot to say that I am having trouble putting into words. Very enjoyable and something I can see myself going back to so I can uncover more layers of meaning.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Afikomen is the half of the matza bread that is eaten at Passover, that is hidden. The tradition is that the children have to search for it to complete the passover ceremony.


For those who have never celebrated Passover, just know that it is a long dinner where there is a lot of time that food is not eaten. It is a tradition that goes back 3000 years. It is celebrated more or less the same way every year.


In this story, the baby of the family finds the afikomen and throws it through a whole in the space time continuum. Without the afikomen, passover can not end, so the oldest, the Wise Child, the narrator, has to go in search of it. He does this with a little goat, who happens to be a scapegoat, that takes him to Passovers past, including that of his great grandmother who escaped the Warsaw Ghetto, and his Dad, who was raised in the USSR, where he was not allowed to celebrate at all.


Good story to explain Passover, especially to kids that have been through it with their family and have no idea why they are really celebrating, or what it all means.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 4th of March 2025.

[Mimsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton for the e-ARC of One Little Goat!
4 / 5 ⭐

Brought to us by the author of People Love Dead Jews, One Little Goat is a fun look back through time at Pesach throughout history through the eyes of our main character, the “wise child” of this year’s magically neverending seder. One Little Goat reflects on family dynamics, the Passover story, and generational trauma without being too heavy. The art style is not my personal preference; for all graphic novels, I highly suggest readers take a glance at the art in advance to see if it’s a good match for them, as preferences vary widely. This would be a great Pesach gift for teens wanting to connect more with the holiday.

[Linda 😊 Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the art and the graphic storytelling.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not being Jewish myself, most of what I know about the Passover Seder comes from other books, mostly children's books that I have read, so this review is written from that point of view. One little goat introduces the reader to a family stuck at a seder because they are missing what they need to complete the ritual in the correct order. I thought the humor and sarcasm from the main characters came across very well, and was very funny. The art, while not quite to my taste, was clear, and helped tell the story. I did feel that some of the travel with the goat seemed overly complicated. Dipping into different historical time periods while fun and informative, was also a bit confusing at times, as there were so many stops and the goat was in such a hurry, that some things didn't feel full explained. Lastly, there were several parts of the seder that figured heavily in the story of which I was unaware. I had to look up more information for some of them to make sense. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but as a book for kids, leaving too much to the reader to figure out on their own can be a problem. I'm sure reading the book with more knowledge and experience of a Passover Seder is a much different experience.

[Wendy Goldberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm surprised not to like this. It reminded me of my third graders when they are "writing" and the text goes, "yeah, so right, that's really cool, but no, it's not really cool, yeah, so then, they said, yeah." There wasn't enough substance in the pages. If it's aimed at young readers, the references to times in history give no information, so I think the reader has to know history well, and I don't think young readers will get the reference. The illustrations are very talented but a bit lost on me. Dark, metaphorical I imagine, but not enough to draw me in to the emotion of the story, the gravity of the topic. I think the point is that the seder has been going on in every generation, through many bad times when people thought the Jewish people would be lost. Okay, I get that. I think so much more could have been done with this, and the reference to the goat and Chad Gadya at the end, I think was too oblique for an average reader without a lot of experience and exposure to the topics and themes. Nice attempt but not going to recommend it. Though as I write this, I wonder if I should read it again (sort of like the haggadah) and I would get more out of it. I might do that, since it took less than half an hour the first time. I admit I don't have a lot of experience with graphic novels (though hundreds of hours of comic books as a kid), so maybe I'll give it another run through.

[Rebekkah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I learned Dara Horn was writing a graphic novel, I knew I needed to read it. And I was right—I adored this! One Little Goat tells the heartfelt and funny journey of a boy who has to travel through time to find the afikomen (a piece of matzah that is hidden during the Passover seder) so his family can finally finish their seder. He does this with the help of a talking goat who takes him to other seders throughout history, visiting his father in the Soviet Union and his great-grandmother in the Warsaw Ghetto, along with other Jewish figures from the past, including Doña Gracia Nasi and the rabbis we read about in the haggadah. My only critique is that the illustration style wasn't my favorite, with the exception of the goat, who was drawn to perfection. For such a colorful story, I wish the illustrations had been in color, although perhaps they are more powerful in a physical book, rather than an ebook. I'll be interested to compare once it comes out. After this triumph, I sincerely hope Dara Horn writes more for younger readers!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Deke Moulton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An accent bizarre fever dream of a book. The art complements the frantic energy of the story- about the afikomen being hidden in a rip in the fabric of the universe, and an unnamed “wise son” following a goat through all the Seders in history to look for it. There were some great moments but I feel like the ending just didn’t connect any dots and fell a bit flat. Why did the Seder have to last for six months before the wise son bothered to go looking for the afikomen again??? Like the mom is pregnant in the beginning and literally about to give birth??? I dunno. I liked some of the things we learned visiting other Seders… but nothing was ever done with it? In the end the wise son vows to ask questions???? And like… that was it??????? It felt underwhelming.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a subset of graphic novels where you feel like you've entered the author's dreamscape or psychedelic trip. This is one of those. Because I know of Dara Horn's genius, I am then led to wonder what the hidden messages are and what I may have been missing-- as I'm not afraid to ask. (Jewish Passover joke.) Read it in partnership with the author's, "People Love Dead Jews" (2022).

If I were still in school, this would be an interesting subject for a paper. I would either hate it or be obsessed it with-- possibly both-- at the six hour mark. My concluding thoughts are at the bottom. The quotations are in the middle as they represent the strongest concepts in the manuscript.

---
Quotes: Here are some ideas that I liked (there's no page numbers, so c'est la vie on citations).

The set-up of the book is that the seder is a tel, an archaeological mound with historical layers with the bottom being the furthest away and the most recent being the closest to the top. The main character (MC) and the eponymous goat then time travel through the layers of the tel to visit Jewish communities commemorating the seder throughout history.

To start off with.
"The goat had a deep understanding of time. / Here's the thing. Your family's seder isn't the only one happening right now... I'm talking about the past, under the present... A tel is a human-made hill, formed out of the ruins of different periods of civilization, one piled on top of another... The night of the seder is like a tel. All the seders that ever happened in the past, before this one--they're all here, underneath yours... They're just hidden away to keep them safe in case they're needed in the future. And right now, all those seders from the past have accumulated directly underneath your house."
[See, trippy.]

The MC dives into the tel and sees doors with labels to past seders around the world.
"Paris, France, 1998"
"Gondar, Ethiopia, 1989"
"Givatayim, Israel, 1993"
... "Aden, Yemen, 1949"
[I actually love this idea.]

And later:
MC: "So, you said it's human nature to revisit old stories. But why this one? Why are people so obsessed with it? I really don't get it."
Goat: "Now you're asking questions! Maybe we should talk to my good friend Nachman of Bratzlav, 1772-1810."
Rabbi: "... The exodus from Egypt is still occurring inside of every human being, in every era, in every year, in every day.
MC: "Ohh-kay? But what does that really mean? ... Wasn't the exodus from Egypt like a one-time thing? How could it be inside of people all the time?"

And later, from Rabbi Shmuel from Babylonia, 3rd century - otherwise unidentified (or another sage as both characters here look the same):
"You're only talking about physical slavery, but the story has to be internalized. The exodus isn't complete if the pharaoh of Egypt sill rules your mind. If oppressive forces dictate your thinking, you're still enslaved. The exodus has to happen in your mind, every day. You have to be a free thinker to truly commit your life to a higher purpose. Get it?"

And toward the end.
MC: "Modern slavery is pharaoh's greed."
Seder participant: "The pharaoh is insanely powerful, but his reach is not infinite, and for the first time ever, I feel hope."

Lastly.
The MC is being pulled back through the time travel portal. A participant at a historical seder, looking terrified, says, "Wait! You're leaving? Don't go! Stay with us!"
MC: "Don't worry! You're all totally going to escape. It's going to be amazing. This will become a holiday that's still being celebrated three thousand years from now."

---
Concluding Thoughts

The format of a graphic novel and artist Theo Ellsworth's style are a good match for the story. It would be inaccurate to say that I didn't like it and a pablum to describe it only as "interesting." The writing had anchor ideas that I myself wrestle with and I would have liked to read about in more depth, especially regarding the details of the historical time periods in those Jewish communities. That said, I don't think the Jewish community as a whole has the education level about itself to reference people and places without providing historical guideposts. << This is the main point in my assessment of the book. To be blunt, I don't think this would have been published as printed if the author wasn't so trusted in her storytelling and well regarded worldwide.

For me, it didn't read as a fun or funny middle grades book, which is how it is billed. But I'm sensitive to nightmares, so it might be just the thing for another reader who connects with this style, i.e. all the middle schoolers who love written-for-kids horror and Halloween type stories.

I would happily read a book report or five of compelling thoughts on this book. What did I miss?

For further context, read Dara Horn's interview with Kveller (August 2024):
https://www.kveller.com/an-exclusive-...

[BookishlyJewish]

This review first appeared on my blog BookishlyJewish

Some of my most distinct childhood memories are from Passover Seders. This makes sense, as one of the largest goals of the ritual is to teach the next generation our collective history. If the kids don't remember it, then what's the point? That being said, I also remember the Seders being very, very long. Which is probably a distortion of time since, unlike my friends families who were still telling the stories into the wee hours of the morning, I was never awake past midnight. But STILL, when you have to tell the whole story before eating the meal, things can get pretty long for a kid. Which is why I near lost my mind laughing at the premise of One Little Goat, the graphic novel by Dara Horn and illustrated by Theo Ellsworth - a Seder that never ends.

You see, typically the end of the meal is signified by eating a special piece of matzah called the afikomen. This morsel is supposed to symbolize the sacrificial lamb Jews ate in the time of the temple, and no other foods are supposed to be eaten after it. Of course, once you give a piece of food such hefty meaning new traditions are bound to spring up - including the one that has the leader of the Seder hide the afikomen and all the children search for it throughout the meal so that later they can bargain for a gift in exchange for its return. After all - without the afikomen the Seder cannot end. Which is exactly the problem faced by the family in the One Little Goat. The baby has snatched the afikomen and thrown it somewhere nobody can find, leaving them to continue the Seder for 6 entire months! A time crunch made all the more real by the mother who goes from announcing she is pregnant at the beginning of the book to being nearly ready to deliver by the end.

Now, my father was a big fan of reminding me that technically speaking he was allowed to designate any piece of matzah as an afikomen and therefore I should not be making my demands too high. Halachikally (according to Jewish law) he was right. This Seder could have ended long ago with a random piece of matzah substituted in for the missing one, but I think he would agree to suspend his disbelief because one of his favorite parts of the seder is the singing of the song Had Gadyah. The title refers to one little goat and the song details all the tragedies that befell it. Interpretations are numerous, but the major one insists the goat is the Jewish people and each tragedy is another tragic diasporic event we experienced until God came and rescued us. However, in One Little Goat the goat is the scapegoat, blamed for everything that has gone wrong in anyones life since the beginning of time. Turns out he is the one who threw the afikomen through some kind of time portal, and then forgot where he put it. My Dad was a fan of tricksters too. I think he'd be down for this development.

In any case, the eldest child of the family sets off with the goat through a series of Seders past to hunt down the missing afikomen. Along the way he and his siblings are compared to the four sons in the Haggadah, and he learns about many pivotal historical moments that occurred on Passover - like the Warsaw ghetto uprising and the very first Seder. He also meets such notable Jews as Dona Gracia Nasi and pairs of Talmudic scholars. With each encounter, his appreciation for the Seder and his family grows.

I found the story charming, and well worthy of the time spent reading it. I also think the average middle schooler will enjoy the jokes and gain a deeper understanding of the customs that make the Seder seem so long. I didn't particularly love the art work, which is a shame since that's half the battle with a graphic novel, but the story line pulled me through. When the Seder finally ends, the afikomen is not the only thing restored to its rightful place. Our wise son is ready to lead his siblings in a greater appreciation for Jewish history, their ancestors, and their beautiful growing family. It's a sweet lesson, packaged with humor, and makes a great pre-Passover gift.

Note: Bookishlyjewish received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black and white line drawings (with crosshatching for shadows) create frenetic visual images to match the panicked voice of the narrator, the oldest child at a family seder that has gone awry after the youngest child tossed the Afikomen (the half-matzah from the seder, spelled "afikoman" throughout) into what seems to be a black hole.

Our narrator reports that it's been missing for 6 months, and the seder can't end until it's found. The members of the family are aging - their hair grows longer, the main character's pregnant mother goes from 3 months pregnant to 9, and everyone is on their last nerve.

Luckily a goat comes along (a scapegoat) to lead our narrator into a time-tunnel, paved with doors to other seders in history - famous and ordinary, and nudges, coaxes, and head-butts the teen into their journey to retrieve the missing half of the matzah, that the goat has hidden somewhere.

Although the density of the images & text caused me to avoid continuing this book for days, it actually made more and more sense the "deeper" the two characters (goat & teen) traveled, and the puns started to make sense. It was cleverly didactic (obviously and also with some subtlety), and I would have LOVED it except for a few complaints that ultimately I could not overcome:

1. When they get to the deepest part of their journey, the main character (unnamed!) finally asks WHY do Jews repeat *this* story, and the answer that is offered - by characters from the 16th century, if I remember correctly??) points out the underlying theme of the story - being enslaved, and freeing oneself from bondage - as a metaphor that is worth considering for everyone today.

However, that doesn't answer the question of WHY this metaphor has been so narrowly interpreted (by many people who do seders) as to include Jews of the past and the individual Jews at the seder table pondering this. There is no mention made of the MANY modern Jews who extrapolate to apply the same principles to every human being, easily applying the God-given right to freedom from oppression to all humanity - and the modifier "MANY - BUT NOT ALL" is the source of so much tension, cruelty, and violence.

In fact, it is almost impossible for some Jews (myself included) to say the words of the Haggadah WITHOUT explicitly naming not only how people other than Jews have suffered oppression, but how RIGHT NOW many non-Jews are suffering at the hands of Jews, with the financial and political support of people claiming to do so on behalf of all Jews.

That is a pretty big flaw - and heartbreaking, since it is evident that the author and illustrator have put so much life-energy into presenting the Jewish seder as relevant and engaging to contemporary teens and young adults.

2. All the wiggly lines are JUST TOO MUCH for me! The text of the story is complex enough, and the dramatic tension already set to MAXIMUM with the main character's dismay, frustration, and admirable attempt to take on the burdens of his family, without the confusing, complicated, dense, tangled, pattern-rich b&w images. Why did the artist not use a grey wash rather than crosshatching, at least? I found it irksome on my eyes, making the effort of engaging with the layered concepts feel exhausting.

Still, it's definitely worth having in any library that includes Jewish families, which is probably every library. It will feel especially relevant to readers whose personal ba-mitzvah experiences are fresh in their minds - I'm guessing that Jewish readers ages 13 to 26(?) would be the ones most willing to delve into this tangled mess.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Award-winning author Dara Horn incorporates so many layers of meaning in her books they end up being like ten books in one, at least! And every one of those layers adds to the delight of the reading experience.

On a superficial level this is a very humorous account of family chaos during a holiday.

It relates the story of the celebration by a Jewish family of a Passover Seder, which commemorates the exodus of Jews from ancient Egypt after their escape from slavery (as recounted in the Book of Exodus in the Bible), and it explains the rituals of a Seder in detail. Thus in a meta way, it also functions as a haggadah, which is the booklet used during the Seder to retell the story of the Exodus and guide participants through the rituals.

While Horn calls this is a book for young readers, I (most decidedly not young anymore) was delighted from the very first page. Not only is the story so fun and richly layered, but the chaotic family celebration seemed like an accurate description of Every Seder Ever Celebrated! And it’s so cleverly told.

But more than the “fun” aspect, Horn has a critical lesson to impart: the story of Passover should remind us of what it is like to be “the other” and to be persecuted for no other reason than which family you were born into or where you worship. It emphasizes the importance of tolerance for all people, all of whom have the right to survive. As God said, according to the Bible, after parting the Red Sea for the escaping Israelites, “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Recapitulating the story every year makes the point that the story of liberation is ongoing, as is the quest for tolerance, freedom, and justice for everyone.

The whimsical drawings by Theo Ellsworth add immeasurably to the text. They reminded me very much of work by Roz Chast, and perfectly illustrate the frazzled mayhem in large families along with their anxiety, warmth, joy, love.

Evaluation: A must-have for any Jewish family, as well as anyone who loves graphic novels or just loves stories that all full of humor and lots of fun. Just for middle graders? Absolutely not! Highly recommended for all ages!

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wilfully peculiar book with serious intentions. A kid is forced to learn a bit more about the Passover Seder when a part of the current celebration goes missing, somewhere in space/time. It's a feast where you have to abide by the rules, which include reciting the reasons behind the feast and the rules and the abiding by them, so this fits the bill somewhat, even if it does introduce a talking, cloud-propelled goat. The author's shtick seems to be the palimpsest of current time upon past time upon past time upon past time, and so on, so the layers of the Seders from everywhere and everywhen are all accessible – and necessary, if the Macguffin is ever to be found.

To me the standout here was the art – detailed, surprisingly rich and something that stood out from the routine graphic novel and then some. The text was fine – readable and of interest to a Goy like me – but something I found myself not really able to judge. Is this too wacky, and irreverent? Is it just preaching to the converted – or perfectly acceptable, given that the directions for the meal's celebration are included in the meal's celebration? Either way, it talks of family connections, and how the meal could be taken for granted if you don't care to learn and embody why it's important – and has been important for so very long to some many people.

Either way, this remains something I'll remember for the visuals more than any actual religious lesson. A close second will be the bonkersness of it all – and if that doesn't put you off, I'd certainly give this a try. It's a breezy thing that takes up much less time than certain repasts, anyway. Three and a half stars – although rated in isolation the art would probably get full marks.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dara Horn's Passover tale of One Little Goat is like no other Passover themed graphic novella that I've ever read. This might be because I've never read ANY Passover themed graphic novellas, except, of course every Haggadah that I've ever read at a Seder.

And still, this is like none of them. A child, bored to tears by an endless Seder, sets out on an adventure. If only the afikomen can be found, the endless Seder could finally be brought to a close. But the search for the afikomen leads the child down corridors of time, to discover, under the wise guidance of a magical goat, many people and places from long ago.

The illustrations by Theo Ellsworth are pitch perfect black and white sketches of people and of exactly how it looks to travel backwards and forwards in time, opening door after door into older and older rooms of the past. As we experience the reality of lives lived long ago the meaning of the present becomes ever clearer.

When I put this down I thought to myself "wow!" This book could be a Passover Haggadah. We could recite the initial steps of the Seder, and then THIS book could be our Magid, our telling of the story, wrapping up with maror and matzah and big meal. It would be a most unconventional Seder. It would be a completely modern telling of the old story, a story that always mingles the present with the past, and family consciousness and closeness with grand themes of liberation.

I'm tempted to write to Dara Horn and ask her to make this into a Passover Haggadah. It would TOTALLY work. However, it's also a great read even when it's not Pesach, and the illustrations are so much fun too. Story and illustrations work together in harmony to speak a truth about time, memory, and human connection.

[Julesy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tale of finding the afikomen which was lost during a seder. With the help of a small talking goat, the Wise Child travels back in time to visit his various ancestors during their seders, finally going back as far as to the original seder prior to the exodus from Egypt.

I enjoyed the story and I’m not sure if I actually knew about the afikomen (I am a gentile and my husband is Jewish), so I did learn something. However, to be honest and brutally frank, the illustrations were downright unattractive, even ugly. Each black and white panel was extremely busy and overdone with way too much unnecessary detail, often giving me a headache. Even the font used seemed like it was intended for Nervous Nelly and made me uncomfortable. It caused me to hurriedly rush through the graphic novel just to end it. This is not a good sign.

Half of my attraction to graphic novels is the artwork and illustrations. The other half is the story, color, and lettering. Sorry to say that this book did not meet even the halfway mark, meeting perhaps just 30% of what I consider a good graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story offers a whimsical twist on the Passover Seder experience, blending humor and tradition in a way that is both educational and enjoyable for kids. It follows a little goat whose unexpected antics disrupt a family’s carefully planned Passover celebration. What begins as a chaotic mishap turns into an unforgettable adventure, as the goat’s mischief brings the family closer together and teaches important lessons about community, family, and the joy of traditions.

The humor in this story is not only entertaining but also educational, allowing kids to engage with the narrative while learning about this beloved cultural holiday. The adorable illustrations beautifully complement Horn’s storytelling, adding an extra layer of charm and playfulness to the book. I love how the story emphasizes the importance of family gatherings, traditions, and even the occasional mess-ups that make life and moments memorable.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://shows.acast.com/moms-dont-hav...

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Free e-arc provided by net galley for an honest review*

I think it is great to see a new book on the shelves that is about Jewish culture, there does not seem to be a lot of them... I thought this book what really cute and funny. I liked that Dara turned the "wise child" into a 'wise guy' and had the goat be a scapegoat. It was very funny. However, I think this book only makes sense to those who are Jewish and/or have celebrated a seder. Otherwise, the humor is very niche. The story has a good middle grade arc of figuring out your place in your family and the world. I also unfortunately did not like the art style at all, especially because it did not include any colors and it is a kids cook. Font for the book was really difficult to read. This may be especially true for children first learning how to read or for those who have dyslexia. I also hope to see more Jewish books in the future that are related to fantasy/fiction instead of history, religion, or biographies.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told through detailed B&W graphic illustrations interspersed with humorous text, One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe is a history of how and why the Passover Seder has been celebrated through the centuries as told by One Little Goat. The seder meal traditionally ends with the eating of the Afikomen, a half-piece of Matza saved from an earlier part of the Seder. In this novel, the youngest child tosses the Afikomen through a hole in the space-time continuum and no one knows how to find it so they can't continue with the rest of the Seder. Six months later, enter One Little Goat who knows not where but "when" the missing afikomen can be located and he takes the oldest son on a journey through time and history to search for it. This graphic novel is an irreverent look at the meaning of Passover through the ages. Geared for readers ages 8-10, it can be read and enjoyed by adults as well.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot believe I've gone through 31 years on this planet knowing absolutely nothing about Passover. This book is a wildly illustrated strange story about a first-born son and his search through a hallway of time and space for his family's missing afikomen. (If you're worried because, like me, you had no prior knowledge of Passover, do not worry; terminology and traditions are explained in a natural and story-serving way.)
The illustration style is so unique and shows movement and sound and the chaos of the situation in a fitting way. It is well suited to the oddness of the story itself.
It was like the graphic novel Passover version of Bradbury's The Halloween Tree in its historical exploration of customs through time. It was a fun, well-paced and informative ride that I easily read in one sitting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd Jewish middle grade graphic novel about a child celebrating Seder with his family. The child thinks of himself as the Wise Child, and he has three siblings, with another on the way, and many other family members gathered at the Seder table. Unfortunately, youngest sister threw the Afikomen into an abyss, and they've been at Seder now for six months. Then a goat descends from a cloud and takes the Wise Child on a quest through the centuries to find the Afikomen.

Some of these scenes are so evocative of a kid's imagination. What kid hasn't day dreamed about a never ending slide into a different world? But also, I thought the moralizing was a bit heavy handed. The artwork is very busy, but I wonder if the final copy will be in color? That would help, I think.

It's an interesting book. I'd be curious to hear what a kid thought of it.

[Rachel]

Dara Horn’s first graphic novel for tweens may surprise fans who are familiar with her other works. “One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe” by Horn and illustrated by Theo Ellworth (Norton Young Readers) is a surrealistic look at not only an endless Passover seder, but Jewish history. The narrator is the oldest child in the family and the book opens with a very funny illustration showing how the seder he attends seems never ending. However, this year, there is an additional problem: his youngest sibling runs off with the afikomen (the matzah that ends the seder meal) and throws it into a time warp. According to their tradition, they can’t end the seder until the afikomen is recovered.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/feat...

[Margaret Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where is the Afikomen? The wise child goes on a fanciful trip between the generations in a back-to-the-future kind of story that is a graphic novel. She (He?) encounters a cool cousin, a 98 year old great granmother who survived the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, rabbis from the 13 hundreds, from the Talmudic age and more. And where is Elijah? Without the missing afikomen the seder can't conclude, Elijah cannot appear. Perhaps seders never conclude. Maybe that's where the hope is.

Every year I add a new haggadah to my collection. This is not a haggadah per se and it was a gift but it is an interesting way to tell the maggid, the story. It may really appeal to those who love sci-fi or teenagers of a certain bent. Glad I read it, but not really my thing.


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[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horn is an absolute genius, who proves it by tinkering and changing up the things she produces and creating masterpieces no matter the medium. She tried fiction: success. She tried non-fiction: seminal and landmark. Now she tries this form, and she nails it with something wildly creative, imaginative, and somehow, fresh. What a fascinatingly strange trip she takes on.

However, and this will not lower my rating a single star-point: the art is...abrasive, and off-putting, and is the thing I would have done differently.

But as Stephen King says about movies based on his books: if you don't like it, the book is right there on the shelf. So: the art is caustic and hard-edged, but the text is a genius imagining.

[Molly Lazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I all loved this graphic novel. The art is unexpectedly quirky, with an alt-comic sensibility. There is a LOT going on in each panel, but once you figure out what different visual elements represent (bursts to signify knocking, for instance), it all comes together beautifully. The story is deeper than it might seem at first glance, allowing the book to be enjoyed in different ways by readers of different ages. My kids liked the silly bits of dialogue and everything about the goat. I appreciated the deeper messages about the generations of persecution of the Jewish people and the importance of asking questions. In all, this was a great read for all of us.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was definitely confused at the beginning. The humor is definitely more dry than I was expecting. I was confused what was a joke and what was a fact. I didn’t really find it funny. However, it did deliver on being informative. I started out with zero knowledge on Passover and left with a rough concept. The illustrations are not to my liking but each to their own. They were very unnerving to me. I’m sure this is a book for someone but I didn’t get what I hoped from this book.

I got an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Novel
I received an electronic ARC from W. W. Norton & Company through NetGalley.
Very dry humor throughout. The young man is the Wise Child for Passover and doesn't understand the deeper meaning of this celebration. Readers see him search for the missing Afikoman through history. He journeys with the Goat who takes him back through Seder meals through time until they arrive at the original night in Egypt. The message under the humor is powerful. Horn offers opportunities for readers to learn, think and grow along with the main character.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trippy little Passover graphic novel.

I thought the concept was really cool/interesting (of visiting past sedarim -- Jewish history is long and its survival is incredible, and this is a cool way to showcase that), but I thought some of the story's execution was a little overly complicated for no reason (like speaking to the baby and being in space). I also wish this book was in color. If we're going to read a trippy-swirly Pesach story with a talking scapegoat, it's got to look like the cover art.