I've just discovered this fabulous resource, the Library of Clean Reads, a blog by Laura Fabiani.
http://libraryofcleanreads.blogspot.com/p/about-us.html
There are a few other similar sites out there, most of them by LDS women. However, this one has no references to Mormon or Christian beliefs and doesn't review religious books. Definitely worth checking out.
Showing posts with label clean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean. Show all posts
12/26/11
11/23/11
Wiggleroom?
About six months ago, my sister sent me the link to an interview with Eric Kimmel, the acclaimed children's author. The popular blogger at Homeshuling chatted with Mr. Kimmel about his retelling of the Purim story, which came out early this past spring.
(Before I go any further, I want to make clear that I'm actually a big fan of Mr. Kimmel despite what follows. I assure you that many of his books are perfectly appropriate for Jewish families, and urge you to purchase them or borrow them from the library.)
One of the central themes of the interview is whether it's okay to alter the details of a story from the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) or a folktale. Mr. Kimmel feels that "You cannot be absolutely tied to the text or you are going to tie yourself into knots."
Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/homeshuling/2011/03/an-interview-with-eric-kimmel.html#ixzz1eagiZr1n
He continues later,
I’m writing modern midrash. Because midrash continues to the present day. We are constantly reinterpreting and reinventing these stories. They are not locked in stone. I want children to learn that the stories of the Torah are great stories – they stand with the best of them – Anderson and Grimm – and it all comes down to the story.
(Before I go any further, I want to make clear that I'm actually a big fan of Mr. Kimmel despite what follows. I assure you that many of his books are perfectly appropriate for Jewish families, and urge you to purchase them or borrow them from the library.)
One of the central themes of the interview is whether it's okay to alter the details of a story from the Tanach (Hebrew Bible) or a folktale. Mr. Kimmel feels that "You cannot be absolutely tied to the text or you are going to tie yourself into knots."
Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/homeshuling/2011/03/an-interview-with-eric-kimmel.html#ixzz1eagiZr1n
He continues later,
I’m writing modern midrash. Because midrash continues to the present day. We are constantly reinterpreting and reinventing these stories. They are not locked in stone. I want children to learn that the stories of the Torah are great stories – they stand with the best of them – Anderson and Grimm – and it all comes down to the story.
Recently, my family purchased the animated movie, Young Abraham. This film incorporates many elements of midrash, dropping certain details and streamlining or fictionalizing others. I was a little uncomfortable with the tampering with tradition, but the overall message is the same as in the original midrashim and completely coincides with frumkeit so I don't mind my children viewing it.
This is not the case with Mr. Kimmel's The Story of Esther: A Purim Tale. The author plays fast and loose with the details of the original text, which is--after all--a sacred work from the Tanach. For example, he "glosses over" the deaths of Haman and his family. However, one of the central points of Book of Esther is that Esther and Mordechai are making a tikkun (correction) for the lack of follow-through King Saul demonstrated when he didn't kill King Agag of the Amalekites despite HaShem's instructions to do so. Additionally, it's very important to a true understanding of the Book of Esther that Achashveirosh is a drunken slob and that Esther doesn't really want to be married to him. Mr. Kimmel changes that detail, too.
These are changes to essential details, and I wouldn't want to read this book to my children.
Similarly, in Even Higher, a retelling of the famous I.L. Peretz story about the Rabbi of Nemerov, Mr. Kimmel wanted to give a little context to the story. However, the information he interjects to explain the battles between the misnagdim and the chassidim is incorrect. His mishandling of the chassidus vs. misnaged battles of the 18th and 19th centuries actually makes the subject more murky, not less (and is probably not age-appropriate anyway).
In the same story, Mr. Kimmel shows the Rebbe livening up an old lady by dancing with her. It is highly unlikely a Chassidishe rebbe would dance with a woman, and it sends a message that you can just ditch halachah (in this case, the rules against negiah) if your intentions are okay.
This is not the case with Mr. Kimmel's The Story of Esther: A Purim Tale. The author plays fast and loose with the details of the original text, which is--after all--a sacred work from the Tanach. For example, he "glosses over" the deaths of Haman and his family. However, one of the central points of Book of Esther is that Esther and Mordechai are making a tikkun (correction) for the lack of follow-through King Saul demonstrated when he didn't kill King Agag of the Amalekites despite HaShem's instructions to do so. Additionally, it's very important to a true understanding of the Book of Esther that Achashveirosh is a drunken slob and that Esther doesn't really want to be married to him. Mr. Kimmel changes that detail, too.
These are changes to essential details, and I wouldn't want to read this book to my children.
Similarly, in Even Higher, a retelling of the famous I.L. Peretz story about the Rabbi of Nemerov, Mr. Kimmel wanted to give a little context to the story. However, the information he interjects to explain the battles between the misnagdim and the chassidim is incorrect. His mishandling of the chassidus vs. misnaged battles of the 18th and 19th centuries actually makes the subject more murky, not less (and is probably not age-appropriate anyway).
In the same story, Mr. Kimmel shows the Rebbe livening up an old lady by dancing with her. It is highly unlikely a Chassidishe rebbe would dance with a woman, and it sends a message that you can just ditch halachah (in this case, the rules against negiah) if your intentions are okay.
I think that perhaps there is a little "wiggleroom" when you teach children (and writing a picture book is essentially teaching)--but you have to respect the original message and not misrepresent authentic Judaism in the retelling. For this reason, my husband and I generally screen even Jewish books before they enter our home.
What's your opinion?
7/5/11
Good clean reads
A friend asked me about good clean books (obviously, other than those from reliable Jewish publishers) to share with her preteen and teenage kids during the summer. Here are just a few great books for the (Jewish) kid, all pre-approved by moi. However, you should ALWAYS skim books before letting your kid read them. Even if they are "kosher," they might not be at the right reading level, for example.
(And you do have to take the following into account:
I allow my kids to read books by non-Jews and about non-Jewish subjects--which some frum moms might disapprove of--and I do allow my kids to read about somewhat controversial topics, as long as they are developmentally appropriate. I'm also a big fan of all those treife animals some people shun--I just don't eat them.
However, I ditch books with strong language, completely "un-tznua" romantic situations, excessive violence, flagrant racism or xenophobia, or that promote avodah zara, movies or television.
...And, yes, that includes Disney!)
These books are for kids 8 and up:
The Hobbit (Tolkein)
The Courage of Sarah Noble (Dalgliesh)
The Stories Julian Tells (Cameron)
Binky series of graphic books (Ashley Spires)
Hereville: How Mirka Gets her Sword (Deutsch)
The Rabbi's Girls (Hurwitz)
Baseball Fever (Hurwitz)
The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela (Shulevitz)
Fat Men from Space (Pinkwater)
Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) (Lisa Yee)
all Henry Huggins books (Cleary)
Ramona, Ramona the Pest, Beezus and Ramona, Ramona the Brave, Ramona and her Mother, Ramona and her Father (Cleary)
Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan)
Little House in the Big Woods and Farmer Boy (Wilder)
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (Sachar)
Sadako and the Paper Cranes (Coerr)
The Princess Tales, Volume I (Levine)
A Single Shard (Park)
The Thief Lord (Funke)
A Single Shard (Park)
The Thief Lord (Funke)
And these are for age 12 and up:
Dealing with Dragons (Wrede)
Searching for Dragons (Wrede)
Tripods trilogy (John Christopher)
Homecoming (Voight)
The Eye, the Ear and the Arm (Farmer)
The Giver (Lowry)
The Cay (Taylor)
Treasure Island (Stevenson)
all the Little House books not listed above
Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell)
Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt)
Un-Lun-Dun (Mieville)
Bud, Not Buddy (Curtis)
Bud, Not Buddy (Curtis)
For age 15 and up:
Sorcery and Cecilia (Wrede and Stevemer)
Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid (Scheinkin)
The Blue Sword (McKinley)
The Graveyard Book (Gaiman)
Dealing with Dragons (Wrede)
Dealing with Dragons (Wrede)
Catherine, Called Birdy (Cushman)
The Folk Keeper (Billingsley)
The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury)
I Robot (Asimov)
I Robot (Asimov)
1001 Arabian Nights
When I Was a Slave: Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection (Norman R. Yetman, ed.)
A Wizard of Earthsea (Le Guin)
Things Not Seen (Clements)
Things Not Seen (Clements)
P.S. There are many other wonderful books out there...please share your "kosher" reading recommendations for the 8+ crowd in a comment below! Also, don't assume other books by the same authors as the above are okay. In many cases, they are most definitely NOT.
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