n 'a Small Shul
Among those educators were his
parents, Mark Smiley, director of edu-
cation at Associated Hebrew Schools,
and Aviva Silverman, coordinator
of the Tanakh Curriculum Project.
However, Smiley approached them
only after he had fleshed out his ideas,
he said, adding that his mother looked
at the wording of some of the study
questions at the end of the book.
Michael Ferman, director of pro-
gramming at Adath Israel in Toronto,
said the synagogue will use the comic
book at its Grade 5 service this Yom
Kippur. "With this comic, we are look-
ing forward to enhancing the High
Holiday educational experience for our
youth and making the story of Jonah
more accessible:'
Smiley self-published the hand-
drawn, digitally colored comic book
through Ka-Blam Digital Printing. The
project grew out of several shorter class
assignments.
In addition to the study questions at
the back of the book, Smiley included
part of a sermon about the Book of
Jonah that was given by his late grand-
father, Rabbi Israel Silverman, in 1994.
Rabbi Silverman served Beth Jacob
Synagogue in Hamilton, Ont., from
1966 to 1996.
Another rabbinic relative — Smiley's
cousin, Chicago-based Rabbi David
Russo — served as a consultant on the
comic book.
The United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism helped Smiley
publicize his book, and he is now into
his second printing after an initial
run of 650 copies. Prices range from
$2.99 to $3.50 per copy, depending on
the number purchased. Smiley says
he already has 13 private orders from
Michigan. United Synagogue Youth
helped with the educational materials,
Smiley said.
He hopes to follow The Book of Jonah
with another High Holiday comic book.
Long term, he would like to expand
on the type of work he's doing now and
perhaps produce a graphic novel based
on his grandfather's Shoah memoir,
part of which he has already adapted
for a class assignment. It can be found
on his blog at dovsmiley.blogspot.ca/p/
survivor-preview-comic.html.
Like The Book of Jonah, his grandfa-
ther's memoir has "a strong dramatic
narrative making it a natural choice
for the medium.
Comics are "a growing medium that
educators are taking seriously:' Smiley
said. "The response I've gotten so far
tells me if it's not a trend right now, it's
going to be:'
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This story first appeared in the Canadian
Jewish News. To order "The Book of
Jonah," go to www.jonahcomic.com.
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September 18 • 2014
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