06/19/2017
The man who became Rabbi Akiva, a famous Jewish sage who lived during the first and second centuries C.E., started life as an illiterate shepherd. But his wife, Rachel, who married him despite her rich father’s objections, “knew that a man with such goodness in his heart, who understood so much about life, must be smart even if he did not know how to read or write.” Her unstinting love and encouragement leads to an epiphany: “My mind is not harder than a rock,” says the 40-year-old Akiva while resting by a brook. “I can learn—just like water cuts through stone—a little bit each day.” Nayberg (The Wren and the Sparrow) makes this old story feel fresh and immediate through her angular drawings, which are inventively composed and rendered in radiant, translucent colors reminiscent of stained glass. Jules (Feathers for Peacock) strives to make Rachel and Akiva co-heroes, though readers may find it hard to get excited about a character defined by support, sacrifice, and patience. But it’s easy to ally with Akiva’s struggles to master literacy, which includes a stint as the oldest pupil in an unruly local Hebrew School. Ages 4–9. (Aug.)
Akiva is just a poor shepherd living an ordinary life, until he falls in love with Rachel. Rachel thinks her husband could become a great man of learning-but Akiva can't even read! Is he too old to be a scholar or can he follow the example of the water in the nearby brook? Water is soft, yet drop by drop, it can soften the hardest stone.
Akiva is just a poor shepherd living an ordinary life, until he falls in love with Rachel. Rachel thinks her husband could become a great man of learning-but Akiva can't even read! Is he too old to be a scholar or can he follow the example of the water in the nearby brook? Water is soft, yet drop by drop, it can soften the hardest stone.
Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva
Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva
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Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171796174 |
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Publisher: | Lerner Publishing Group |
Publication date: | 01/01/2018 |
Series: | Jewish Heroes |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Age Range: | Up to 4 Years |