Izzy the Whiz and the Passover McClean

By: Yael Mermelstein
Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing
Publication Date: January 2012
ISBN: 978-0761356547
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: February 2012

Izzy the Whiz liked to invent things. His beakers would snap, crackle, `n pop and he was very handy with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. There wasn't a lot that Izzy couldn't do, except ... pick up his room. Izzy used a pile of books as a doorstop, there was a checkerboard under his bed and bread (ugh!) on a plate on the floor. Now some people don't care for clutter and when

"His mother came in and she said, `Izzy, please,
There's hametz all over. I'm starting to wheeze."

Passover was coming and it was time to get to work and clean up the house.

There were all kinds of crumbs for the mouse to nibble on, but something had to be done so Izzy put on his thinking cap.

"A squeak and a twiddle, four drops of red ink,
A tweak and a fiddle, `It's working, I think!'"

Izzy had created the Super-Duper Passover McClean and it was definitely going to be better than an Electrolux by far. McClean sucked in the dirt, sucked up the crumbs, and even the furniture. POOF! Everything came out spotless in Izzy's room without the trace of hametz. He took McClean downstairs to give it a go, but after everything was sucked up Izzy's machine started to smoke. What would happen if the living room didn't come back out? Would they be ready for Passover?

Izzy uses a lot of ingenuity when he creates the chomping and whomping Super-Duper Passover McClean machine, but his plan does backfire a bit. Of course all's well that ends well (I think) and all the hametz flies right out the door. I enjoyed this unique tale and the illustrations caught the nuances of Izzy's excitement and his mother's frustration and "bread-ache" she got just by glancing in Izzy's room. This story in rhyme will make little ones giggle and make their bubbe's eyes roll as they work their way through the tale. If you are getting ready for your spring cleaning, you just might want to invite Izzy along!

Quill says: The unique `n zany way Izzy prepares for Passover is super-duper fun.