Ten Best Jewish Children's Stories
Grade 1-3?A collection of traditional stories, with thought-provoking questions after each one. Selections include the familiar "How Could It Be Worse?," "For the Love of Two Brothers," "Nicanor's Golden Doors," and "Yosef's Love for the Sabbath." Less familiar are "God's Hidden Ways" (sometimes misfortune saves one from a tragedy), "More Valuable Than Gold" (the value of honoring one's father), "The Scorpion and the Wedding" (an act of kindness and charity saves a sage's bride from being bitten by a sorcerer's scorpion), and "The Shadow on the House of Study" (it is permissible to do ordinarily forbidden activities on the Sabbath to save a life). There is one treasure here?"The Chickens That Turned into Goats." Never mind what it teaches?it is perfect on its own. The stories are simply told and stripped to their oral-storytelling essentials. The artist draws great goats and wonderfully expressive human faces and hands in a dramatic, naturalistic style, although the figures are rather dwarfish. He handles watercolors so that they retain their translucency, but some of the colors are harsh. Most illustrations are double-page spreads. Never trust a book that claims to be the "best." This one isn't, but it could be worse.?Marcia W. Posner, Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.