Review
------
"This is the story of a young man who challenges the great sage
Rabbi Hillel to teach him the entire Torah while standing on one
foot. Hillel cleverly responds, 'Do not do to others what you do
not want them to do to you.' That is the whole Torah; 'the rest
is just comments and explanations.' This picture book, while not
crediting its Talmudic source, is an expansion of that incident,
offering motivation for the odd request and showing the student
experiencing reciprocal behaviors during his quest for the
perfect teacher. The pacing and simple language are well suited
to a young audience, and the message is clear without feeling
didactic. The collage illustrations are intriguing, if a bit
creepy. The characters' noses are covered in Hebrew text, and
their hands are photographs of real hands attached to skinny,
stretched-out arms. The calm palette and spacious layout somewhat
counteract the eerie effect. Bolded text makes the dialogue stand
out. VERDICT This excellent introduction to the Golden Rule can
be used successfully with Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.
Combine with Ilene Cooper's The Golden Rule for a more
multicultural approach and Laurie Keller's Do unto Otters for a
more playful version." -- School Library Journal
(Journal)
"A somewhat foolish and impatient young man goes to Jerusalem in
search of a great rabbi to teach him the entire Torah while
standing on one foot. He meets several rabbis, but each, in turn,
laughs at him, yells at him, or shakes his fist at him, until he
meets Rabbi Hillel. The gentle, wise Rabbi Hillel calmly answers,
'Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you . . .
The rest is just comments and explanations.' After the boy thinks
about the answer, he decides to try to behave as instructed, and
Rabbi Hillel invites him to study. This well-known Talmudic tale
is conveyed through whimsical illustrations of paper, cloth, and
colored pencils in a collage appearance, with a vivid text easily
understood by grade school students. The large, easy to read text
is artistically placed in and around these full page, full color
illustrations. Some of the papers used for various rabbis'
garments are covered in Hebrew print. While boldface type
designates the conversations between the young man and the
various rabbis and group of children whom he asked for help,
bold, maroon letters focus attention on Rabbi Hillel’s famous
answer. The Author's Note gives some historic information about
Hillel and quotes his famous 'If [I] am not for myself, who is
for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now,
when?' (omitted from ARC, hopefully corrected in published copy).
It would have been helpful to list Pirke Avot 1:14 for this
quote, and to reference Talmud Shabbat 31a as the source for the
story told in this book. This is an attractive picture book that
would be useful for teaching about Rabbi Hillel and the verse
often referred to as the Golden Rule." -- AJL Reviews
(Magazine)
Read more ( javascript:void(0) )
About the Author
----------------
Award-winning illustrator and graphic designer Nuria Balaguer
comes from a family that works with toys, so it wasn't surprising
when she began expressing herself with paper and colored pencils.
She lives in Madrid, Spain.
Read more ( javascript:void(0) )