The BiG Story

If you are in the least up on
I your Hollywood news, you know
I that Douglas, as he gets up in
1 those legendary years, has suck
Idenly become interested in his
I Judaism. Chances are good that's
!what inspired him to write this
book.

Gabriel's
Ark by San-
dra Curtis (Alef
Design Group,
$5.95).
The idea
behind this
book is terrific:
how does a
mentally dis-
abled boy celebrate becoming bar
I mitzvah?
Unfortunately, the text (not to men-
tion the illustrations) doesn't work.
1 When Gabriel is born there is
a rainbow outside. Rainbow after
I rainbow follows throughout
I Gabriel's life. Sure, Gabriel has
I his difficult moments, and so
:does his family, but for the most
part everything is always fine
and dandy.
Gabriel's tutor, the rabbi, is the
j Mr. Sensitive himself. "We're all
going to help make your bar mitz-
ivah very special," he tells Gabe.
I "That's a promise, just like God and
the rainbow."
I Gabriel is still nervous, though, so
I the whole family decides to partici-
pate in the bar mitzvah. This could.
I have- been a tender, memorable
1 scene: Instead, it reads like sloppy
:sentimentalism. One of his sisters
!tells the story:
"Silence blanketed the syna-
gogue. Rachel nudged me. I
!looked up. Gabriel was picking up
I his toy ark. He opened its doors
land turned it to the open. ark before
1 him. Slowly, he raised his ark
-1 towards the Aron haKodesh [the
:Holy Ark]. His high, nasal voice
1 pierced the stillness.
'Hear, Israel,' he said. 'One God.
Rainbow promise. -

Purim by
Camille Kress
(Union of Ameri-
can Hebrew
Congregations,
$5.95).
This is a nice
little board book, perfect for the
upcoming holiday. It doesn't take
the easy route of yet again telling
the story of Purim, but rather gives
a brief synopsis of what to do —
"cheer the brave and faithful
Mordechai ..-. hiss the evil
Haman."
This book is written for children
ages 3 and under, so don't
expect any profound observations
on the nature of the holiday. If
you're looking for something short
and sweet, with beautiful illustra-
tions, then this may be just what
you want.

.

Come, Let
Us Welcome
Shabbat: A
Joyful Cele-
bration for
Families by
Judyth Groner
and Madeline
Wikler (Kar-
Ben Copies

Inc., $4.95).
Though the authors present this
book as a "guide," it's really
designed as an introduction to
those who know next to nothing
about observing Shabbat, but
would like to learn. Conequently,
the bulk of the text includes all the
necessary brachot (blessings),
some songs and a recipe for chal-
la (egg bread). In short, most of
what you find here is stuff you
probably already have around the
house, though it's handy to have
it neatly compiled into one handy
book.
The problem is, Come, Let Us
Welcome Shabbat has a lot of
unneccessary stuff, too — proba-
bly because the authors needed
to justify offering this up as a new

book, when they themselves know
that most of what you find here is
stuff you already have around the
house. So, they've got some ques-
tions to consider on Shabbat,
none of which are particularly
inspiring, such as: "What do sci-
entists, teachers, construction
workers, farmers and others con-
tribute to creation?
"What can children do to help
make the world a better place?
"How can we help those Jews
who are not free to celebrate
Shabbat?"

A Voice for
the Child: The
Inspirational
Words of
Janusz Kor-
czak, edited by
Sandra Joseph
(Thorsons,
$14.50).
What an odd little book this is.
It is indeed a collection of quotes
by the famed Jewish author, who so
loved the children in his "orphan-
age" in the ghetto that he went to
the death camps at Treblinka rather
than desert them (though he was
offered the chance to live). But in
her 13-page introduction to this
book, author Sandra Joseph (whom
I believe is Jewish) doesn't once
mention the word "Jewish." In fact,
at times there appears to be a dis-
tinctly Christian tone to the work; the
opening page features a quote by
Pope John Paul II, while the author
describes Korczak as "a saint." (Ms.
Joseph, Jews don't have saints.)
This is not to say that Korczak
only was interested in Jewish chil-
dren (in fact, he spoke out on
behalf of all children), but why the
attempt to "universalize" him?
What's wrong with identifying him
exactly as what he was: a Jew?
That aside, A Voice for the Child
is, nonetheless, valuable for includ-
ing observations by a man who not
only loved children, but understood
them. You will want to read Kor-

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