1 comments about His Story.

1. This book has captured the essence of the gospel in a way no other book I have read has. The art work in the book explains it without words but the words are so clear that you won't want to get lost in the art.
   
   This is great - Thank you Beau - It's about time someone has captured the gospel so clear but so accurate.
   
   The book is good for kids, youth and adults. Mine is always on my coffee table.

No comments about Yom Kippur with Bina, Benny, and Chaggai Havonah (Artscroll Children's Holiday Series).

No comments about The Shushan Chronicle: The Story of Purium.

3 comments about The Blessing of the Animals.

1. the blessing of the animals is a delightful story about a boy and his dog and his predicament regarding the dog's religious affiliation or lack thereof. Does a child's pet take on the religion of the child and family? Or can the pet share another religious affiliation by virtue of the fact that it is indeed an animal and is viewed "differently"? Or does the pet have a religion at all? These are the questions that the boy in the book needs to answer before making a final decision.



2. There were many admirable things about this book - among them, a likeable and believable child protagonist, good depictions of his relationships with the adults in his life, especially his mom and grandfather, and a plot Jewish children who love animals will easily relate to. In spite of these strengths, the book is seriously flawed. At one point, an adult tells the young boy that a Christian custom has nothing to do with Judaism, "just like Hannukah has nothing to do with Christmas and Passover has nothing to do with Easter". When I read this, I excalimed, "That's a lie! Easter has *everything* to do with Passover!" It also disturbed me that, though the boy approaches the priest as one of the adults he wants to poll (see the previous review for this plot point), he never actually *talks* to this man. He's scared of him, and that's presented as being okay. Up to this point, I had thought the book a fine ecuminical story that I wanted to share with the fifth graders when I visited our local school (I am a librarian). I did not. It struck me that interfaith dialogue could not be advanced by presenting an unfair and inaccurate picture of Christianity. And this could have been - and was, in many ways - such a good book! Mr. Rosen should have had a Catholic or Episcopalian friend read his manuscript and correct factual errors.



3. Not only are the illustrations fantastic in this book, but the issues that are dealt with are done in a way that are sensitive to all sides of the dialogue. Religion is a hard thing to question, especially as a child, and Rosen creates a story that sensitively gets right to the heart of a child's concerns about belief. I believe this book encourages kids to contemplate their faith in a very healthy way. I highly recommend it!

No comments about Let's Do a Mitzvah!.

No comments about Mardi Gras (Celebrating Cultures).

No comments about Rosh Hashanah (Holidays, Festivals, & Celebrations).

No comments about Jewish Festivals (Festival Tales).

No comments about My Hindu Year (A Year of Religious Festivals).

No comments about Divali (World of Holidays).