Posts Tagged god

Abraham’s Search for God by Jacqueline Jules

November 5, 2008 at 6:04 pm · Filed under picture books (ages 4-6) ·Tagged , , ,

In synagogues around the world, Jews will be reading about Abraham this Saturday, so I thought I’d provide a nice, kid friendly Abraham book. The problem with Biblical stories is that if you aren’t a true believer or deeply religious, chances are, you feel a bit conflicted about the “truth” of the story. So, do you read the story to the small child as a story just like Leonardo the Terrible Monster? Or, do you make a point of saying this is real or this happened or this is something I/we (kind of) believe in?

Abraham's Search for God

Abraham's Search for God

I’ll let you figure that all out, but in the meantime, here’s a nice story that won’t make you cringe. Based on the midrashim (stories written to fill out gaps of information in the Bible), Abraham’s Search for God by Jacqueline Jules deals with how Abraham “discovered” God. It’s filled with great examples of deductive reasoning and offers a nice way to talk about God (even for those who aren’t sure what they think of God). Possibly best of all, it’s beautifully illustrated with art by Natascia Ugliano.

So here’s the gist: it’s a Bible story that won’t make you squirm, with pictures that are outstanding, on a topic that you probably want to introduce to your child, even if you aren’t a true believer. It might sound like faint praise, but for a Bible story, it’s quite amazing.

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Big Momma Makes the World by Phyllis Root

October 23, 2008 at 5:11 pm · Filed under picture books (ages 4-6), picture books for older kids (7-10) ·Tagged , ,

I am a terrible blogger — I have not posted regularly in weeks. In my defense, I had all those Jewish holidays. But let me say, it’s won’t happen again (until next year that is).

In the meantime, I get a lot of requests for books on creation that don’t make you feel like you are lying to your child. In my mind, there is one fantastic book that I think is an excellent introduction to creation for most any child. Most importantly, it is a great book even for (and some might say especially for) those who don’t believe in the Biblical creation story.

Big Momma Makes the World

Big Momma Makes the World

Big Momma Makes the World by Phyllis Root is funny and gorgeous and irreverent and fabulous. It’s a fantastic book to read aloud (I often read it to grown-ups, not just kids) because the words are just so right. And even though traditionally, we don’t think of God as being a large-ish woman with a baby on her hip (especially Jews don’t — God with a baby gets a little scary), it’s probably the most memorable and amusing take on the creation story that you will find. And then after you have your kids laughing, you can move on to the more serious books. But at the end of the day, this is just the best one out there. I love Big Momma (potentially more than the Lord I’m afraid to admit).

And for those committed to the Big Bang, wait until you see how it comes in… Wow.

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The Shadow of a Flying Bird by Mordicai Gerstein

October 3, 2008 at 12:54 pm · Filed under picture books for older kids (7-10) ·Tagged , , , , ,

I often get requests for book recommendations and frequently they involve books that can explain death to a child. Sadly, these books are few and far between. In these books, we are looking for someone to say something that we don’t know how to say ourselves, to explain something to our children that we don’t really understand. You want a book that includes platitudes on death? I got plenty of those. But they aren’t worth much.

The Shadow of a Flying Bird

The Shadow of a Flying Bird

My favorite book by leaps and bounds for this difficult topic is The Shadow of a Flying Bird by Mordicai Gerstein. It isn’t actually about the death of a loved one, but rather about the impending death of Moses. Don’t stop reading — I’ll explain, I promise. Based on a Midrash (a story created to explain parts of the Bible), Gerstein shows Moses at his final moments, as God allows him to see the Promised Land but not to enter it. At this moment, though he has lived for 120 years, Moses begs to live longer. He prays 515 prayers and begs to even become a sheep or a butterfly. But God says: “Everything born has a time to die. … I cannot change that.”

Moses begs the hills and the mountains to plead on his behalf, and then the sun and the moon. But each time, he is reminded that everything must come to an end. When finally Moses gives up, God asks each of His angels, Gabriel, Michael and Zagzagle, to take Moses’ soul and each refuses:

God turned to His angel Zagzagle.

“I command you,” He said. “Bring me the soul of Moses.”

And Zagzagle wept and said, “Oh Lord of Heaven, he is my disciple and I am his teacher. How can I take the soul of one I love?”

In the end, even Moses’ soul was desperate to stay in his body, begging to remain even after God promises the soul he can sit beside Him on his throne of glory. And finally, it is God that must take Moses’ soul and even then, he weeps a he does it, fearing that never again will there be someone who will “oppose evildoers … speak for me and love me as Moses did…”

It’s a heartbreaking book with incredible artwrok and stirring text. And really, at the end of the day, it doesn’t need to have anything to do with Moses or God or the Bible if you don’t want it to. At the end of the day, it’s the closest description to the feeling we go through when we lose a loved one. And this is what you can tell your children: that each person is as important as Moses. That everytime a person dies, the whole world pleads on his/her behalf; even the angels don’t want to take them and separate us from the one we love; even his/her soul doesn’t wanted to be parted. But that everyone has his or her time and nothing we can do changes that.

On that happy note, have a wonderful weekend!

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