Saturday, July 07, 2018

R. Akiva and his wife for children

NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK: Great Jewish Summer Reads (Phil Jacobs, Jewish Link of New Jersey). This article briefly notes many new books, some of which have already been mentioned on PaleoJudaica. But this one is new to me:
“Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva,” by Jacqueline Jules. 2017. Kar-Ben Publishing. Paperback, 32 pages. Age Range: 3-6 years. ISBN-13: 978-1512420913.

Akiva is just a poor shepherd living an ordinary life, until he falls in love with Rachel. Rachel thinks her husband could become a great man of learning but Akiva can’t even read! Is he too old to be a scholar or can he follow the example of the water in the nearby brook? Water is soft, yet drop by drop, it can soften the hardest stone.
I noted a recently-published, imaginative biography of Rabbi Akiva (for adults) here and links. And for past posts on his wife, Rachel, see here and links.

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