Finding the Fruits of Peace Cain and Abel
Finding the Fruits of Peace Cain and Abel
Reviews
This book is gorgeous, stunning, and absolutely wonderful. I bought it when my older son was almost five and he had a new(ish) little brother who was just starting to crawl around and make trouble. I read it to Thomas and the second I finished the last line he cried "READ IT AGAIN!" I've never seen him so engrossed in a story. - Colleen Cullinan (Saint Paul, MN) In this retelling of the Bible story, a rabbi shows how the idyllic world of "the first children" was marred and then destroyed by jealousy, unkind words, anger, and, finally, murder. A passage from Midrash Tanhuma provides both narrative and artistic inspiration: "In the beginning God created each tree so that it could yield many different kinds of fruit." The story stirs readers' imaginations by describing pinangoes, limeberries, waterloupes, and plumelons growing on a single branch while the vividly colored, heavily outlined impressionistic artwork offers a powerful visual interpretation. The large format lends itself to Rothenberg's bold lines and streaks of color while allowing plenty of space for the text and borders. In the final pages, the author and illustrator move beyond traditional Jewish sources to show how angry words and killing became war, destroying entire worlds. They effectively conclude this parable by returning to the image of orapples and banangerines growing from a single tree in a time of peace when "in God's garden called Earth, all will be good." Not since In God's Name (Jewish Lights, 1994) has Sasso crafted so child-centered a story capable of engaging the imaginations and spiritual intelligence of readers. Children in all types of schools and libraries will be touched by it. - From School Library Journal - Kindergarten-Grade 3