Book Review: Oy, vey, it's Rabbi Rocketpower!
By: Rabbi Rachel Esserman
It’s a bird; it’s a plane.... Oy, vey, it’s Rabbi Rocketpower! What? You aren’t familiar with this exciting superhero who "make[s] bad guys turn good with a flick of her mighty yad... [and] make[s] peace when there is war with a blast of her trusty shofar"? Disguised as mild-mannered Rabbi Beatrice Ann Mensch ("B.A. Mensch for short"), she solves mysteries with the aid of her son, Aaron, her computer-expert husband and their talking cat, Purreneal Pest (commonly known as Purr), who claims to be an alien from the planet PIA ("Pain in the Asteroid"). Her first two adventures, "Rabbi Rocketpower and the Mystery of the Missing Menorahs – A Hanukkah Humdinger" and "Rabbi Rocketpower in Who Hogged the Hallah? A Shabbat Shabang" (both published by Oak Leaf Systems), are silly, yet delightful, chapter books written by Rabbi Susan Abramson and her son, Aaron Dvorkin, with illustrations by Ariel DiOrio.
In her acknowledgments, Abramson mentions that these stories evolved as a way to create "caring and positive role models" for her son, in addition to teaching him "about the Jewish holidays in a fun and funny way." She certainly succeeds in her task: These books are great not only for young readers, but for parents who also enjoy a good laugh. Yes, yes, they contain all kinds of educational "stuff" (holiday/Shabbat recipes, Shabbat blessings, information about the celebration, a glossary, etc.), but it’s the silliness, the jokes and the bad puns that make the books work.
For example, in the Hanukkah story, Aaron can’t find the family menorah. A few quick calls confirm that not only has his menorah gone missing, but those of several friends. Who could be behind this dastardly deed? Some quick sleuthing uncovers the answer: Meowrats from the planet Catastrophia took the menorahs in order to repair their spaceship. Unfortunately, according to Purr, the Meowrats are "so dumb that they built their spaceship with a litter box on top so they wouldn’t smell up the cabin when they needed to use the bathroom," never thinking that they would have to walk outside into space every time they wanted to use it. Can Rabbi Rocketpower rescue the menorahs, fix the Meowrats’ spaceship and save Hanukkah?
In "Who Hogged the Hallah" (the second book in the series), Aaron explains how his mom became a superhero: While on a field trip in Israel during rabbinical school, "she got lost in a cave... and accidentally tripped over the real live Ten Commandments." A "loud voice" then told her "she would now have superpowers, like being able to fly." This ability is certainly helpful when Aaron discovers that all the food for the oneg Shabbat has been filled with ham. Some clever detective work uncovers the evil perpetrators of the deed: "an unreligious group of WEJS from the planet Farblunget," who do everything backwards. "First they have their Oneg Shabbat, which they call Geno Tabbash. Then they change into their old clothes, get as dirty as possible and blow out the Shabbat candles, which they call eldnacs." With a quick "Oy, Vay! Up, up and away," Rabbi Rocketpower flies for help to save the oneg before Shabbat is spoiled.
In both books, Abramson does an excellent job melding the Judaic lessons with the funny and nonsensical plots. Young readers will identify with Aaron, who is almost as much a hero as his mom and who loves being Jewish. What really appealed to me (and I’ll admit I’m prejudiced about this) is that the superhero is not only a woman, but a woman rabbi!
Abramson promises at least four more books in the series: "A Tutti-Frutti Tale for Tu Bishvat," "A Purr-fectly Preposterous Purim," "A Pharaoh-cious Passover" and "Blintzes Rule/Cats Drool – A Cheesy Tale for Shavuot." If they are as good as her first two works, they should be a real holiday treat.