This visually appealing introduction to Paul and his writing can serve as a useful starting point to help young readers...
Caldecott Medalist Raschka examines the writings of the Apostle Paul, an early missionary of Christianity, with this interpretation of some selected words from his epistles.
A brief first page introduces Paul and his belief in the teachings of Jesus, but that is the only mention of Jesus, and God is never mentioned in the book. The book’s attractive design includes a double-page spread for each of the 14 books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible traditionally attributed to Paul. Each spread is structured as a letter, offering Paul’s advice from the relevant book on how to live a good life. As these recommendations do not specifically refer to Jesus or God, it is not clear from the text that Paul was spreading the new religion of Christianity in his letters. The text consists of a few short quotes from each book, rephrased and condensed, with pertinent chapter and verse references at the bottoms of the pages. While many of the rephrased quotations are familiar passages, other widely known verses attributed to Paul are not included, such as the famous words from 1 Corinthians often read at weddings. The words of Paul are hand-lettered in pleasing arrangements, with related elements such as palm trees and columns integrated within the text and a view of Paul on each spread in the act of writing his letters. Raschka’s loose watercolor illustrations show Paul as an aged man with brown skin and a white beard on the front and back covers; internal illustrations show him in different solid, pastel shades.
This visually appealing introduction to Paul and his writing can serve as a useful starting point to help young readers understand a key figure in the spread of Christianity. (map) (Picture book/religion. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5494-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Rahab is intriguing and exciting, but her tale is told in a saccharine, preachy tone.
The story of Rahab, a woman of Jericho, appears in both the Old and New Testaments.
She is known for her bravery when the Israelites were about to conquer the city. She had heard of their belief in one God and wondered if this faith could be hers. When two Israelite spies were in danger of discovery and desperately needed assistance, she offered them a hiding place, but that also caused them to be locked inside the city walls. With prayer and guidance from this newly found God, she cleverly devised a way for them to escape. In return she demanded that they guarantee safety for herself and her family. When the walls came tumbling down, the Israelites kept their promise and accepted her as one of them, giving her the opportunity for a new beginning in her new faith. She is further idealized as the fifth-great-grandmother of Jesus, God granting her this honor for her great courage and faith, a detail that centers this telling firmly as Christian rather than Jewish. The authors have taken the main body of Rahab’s tale and expanded it. Her adult life as a prostitute is somewhat glossed over as “making a lot of bad choices,” though her “profession” is hinted at in a readers’ note. Elwell’s very bright, purple-and-pink, sun-washed illustrations enhance the narration, providing a strong vision of the time and place. All characters are shown as having dark and swarthy skin color.
Rahab is intriguing and exciting, but her tale is told in a saccharine, preachy tone. (reflection questions) (Picture book/religion. 8-10)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7369-7373-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harvest House
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
For lovers of books and libraries.
One young man seeks out a unique collection of Yiddish books to preserve them and their lost world.
Growing up, Aaron Lansky remembered the story of his grandmother’s immigration to America. She had just one worn suitcase, filled with books in Yiddish and Sabbath candlesticks—which her brother tossed into the water upon greeting her. It was of the Old World, and she was in the New World. Lansky loved reading but realized that to pursue his interest in Jewish literature he would have to study Yiddish, his grandmother’s language. His search for books in Yiddish led to one rabbi about to bury a pile, which led to years of rescuing books from dumpsters and then building a depository for them and for the thousands of subsequent donations. Lansky visited many of the donors and heard their emotional stories. Now a well-established resource in Amherst, Massachusetts, his Yiddish Book Center is digitized, with free downloads, and conducts educational programs. Macy’s text beautifully and dramatically tells this story while noting the powerful influence of Yiddish writing in the lives of Jews. Innerst’s acrylic and gouache artwork, with the addition of digitized fabric textures, is stunning in its homage to Marc Chagall and its evocation of an Eastern European world that has physically vanished but is alive in these pages of beautifully realized imagery.
For lovers of books and libraries. (afterword by Lansky, author’s note, illustrator’s note, Yiddish glossary, further resources, source notes, photographs) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7220-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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