Queen Vashti's Comfy Pants

Rabbi Leah Rachel Berkowitz is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Ami. A graduate of Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, she contributed to Mishkan HaNefesh for Youth, a High Holy Day prayer book, and The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate. She is also the author of four children's books: The World Needs Beautiful Things, Queen Vashti's Comfy Pants, The Moving-Box Sukkah, and Maybe It Happened This Way. She lives in Elkins Park, PA.Ruth Bennett is an illustrator and animator. In addition to her work on Queen Vashti's Comfy Pants, she also illustrated Golem Goes to Camp for Apples & Honey Press. She studied animation at Norwich University of the Arts in England, and she lives in a small country village in the heart of Norfolk, England.

"In perfect rhyme the reader learns about the lesser-known Purim heroine, Queen Vashti!She’s enjoying a fine afternoon with her friends, wearing not-fancy clothes, not ready to perform for the king, but playing cards, drinking tea, and noshing - wearing ‘comfy pants!’ This book is hilarious! Not irrelevant, just filled with chutzpah! When the king summons her to dance, assuming she’ll come just because of his directive - well no! Vashti is not having any of it! Not even when his messenger tries to drag her to entertain, does she budge! - This book is all about a woman’s right to say “NO!” for anything! The illustrations are to die for, with their colorful, whimsical Prsan harem feel… And Vashti’s harem-of-friends! They are one-solid-sisterhood of “NO!” She's got her chevreh, her personal loyal supporters, women in comfy pants with signs held aloft, readying for a rally! This loyal group with skin tones of all complexions and even one sister in a wheelchair. (This book has everything covered!) When it's apparent that the king is not happy, well, then it’s time to go! For Vashti and the sisterhood to ‘scram!’ To level the palace, bags packed with all their belongings including their comfy pants, with smiles on their faces, to go off and conquer the world.This is a fabulous Purim story with a twist! We’re never told in the Megillah what happens to Vashti. This story is as good as any midrash. Little girls, and boys as well, grow up often knowing only Queen Esther. This Purim story is a winner!"– Sandy Wasserman, The Sydney Taylor Shmooze"A feminist spin on a biblical event.The story of Queen Vashti and King Ahasuerus, like most Jewish tales, has many interpretations. In this buoyant, rhyming take, Queen Vashti “played gin rummy all night long / and sang her favorite silly song. / And all Queen Vashti’s friends were there, / in comfy pants and braided hair.” The women are enjoying their relaxation time, but the king, whose “party had stretched on for days,” decides that “Queen Vashti must at once come down, / in her finest dress and royal crown.” A battle of the wills commences, as Vashti refuses to give up the comfort of her red-and-orange patterned pants, and the king (unnamed in the book) insists that she perform for him. Finally the king declares, “Have you forgotten who I am? / Your choice is simple: / dance…or SCRAM!” Vashti and her ladies-in-waiting take the scram option and leave to “conquer the world in their comfy pants!” The colorful cartoon illustrations are expressive, with a lot of background diversity—Vashti herself has brown skin, and one of her friends is in an ancient wheeled chair. Many readers, whether familiar or unfamiliar with the Purim story this is spun from, may enjoy the lighthearted girl power; others who know its origins may bristle at the irreverence displayed toward what is often considered a tale of sexual violence and dire consequences.A well-crafted revision sure to spark discussion. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)"-Kirkus Reviews