By Harriet Cohen Gelfand and Ellen Kahan Zager
We were very impressed by this exceptional book, a version of the Creation story in Bereshit (Genesis) that we’re sending out to our seven- and eight-year-old subscribers in time for the High Holy Days. The text and illustrations are serious yet child-friendly, with the story of each of the first seven days of the world recounted in rhyme and summed up with a suitable adjective. Between the text for the sixth and seventh days comes a translation of a quotation in the siddur (liturgy) that we read on Shabbat.
But most impressive of all are Ellen Kahan Zager’s incredibly clever illustrations, the intricate designs creatively incorporating letters from the Hebrew alphabet to spell out the names of words being depicted.
And There Was Evening, And There Was Morning is a wonderful resource that will appeal to families across the religious spectrum, and as an added bonus, the format of the illustrations and the useful glossary will encourage kids to learn Hebrew!
This is a beautiful book to be treasured and revisited over and over again, by parents as well as their children.
September 27, 2018