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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Colors of Israel is a Beautiful Tapestry, April 22, 2004
This review is from: Colors of Israel (Colors of the World) (Paperback)
The Colors of Israel is the first book in the Colors of the World series I have read and as a teacher, I am now ready to recommend this book and the series to my students.Although I am quite knowledgable about Israel(I lived there for 12 years),I was quite pleasantly surprised by the type of information Ms.Grossman chose to include. This is not your usual superficial blue and white,Hava Nagilah description of life in Israel. Rather,Ms Grossman offers a realistic tapestry,accessible to children,of everyday life in the always colorful,yet incredibly complex,Holy Land. I was struck by the creativity of the choices of where each color can be found,from the pink of the raspberry drink to the black of the Dead Sea mud to the green of a door leading to an Arab home. A child reading this book surely will understand the uniqueness of Israel and hopefully will be curious enough to want to learn even more. This book gives me hope-it presents Israel as a vibrant,interesting,fun country with a diverse population. Yes, a child reading this learns about the reality(yellow is for the robot that blows up suspicious objects)but the reality also includes the other colors of everyday life and yes, that everyday life includes different types of Jews,Arabs, and Christians.I recommend this book to anyone who wants a child to learn about the wonder of the most special place in the world,Israel.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Positive & clear-eyed, July 31, 2004
This review is from: Colors of Israel (Colors of the World) (Paperback)
This book uses a simple but effective framework of colors to introduce elements of life in Israel. The writer acknowledges the role that Israel plays in other religions, but her approach is firmly rooted in a Jewish milieu. Colors of Israel is a good addition to any child's library, and is particularly suitable for Jewish children.
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10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading, December 16, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Colors of Israel (Colors of the World) (Paperback)
The tone of this book is set on the first page, with a map showing "Israeli-controlled territory," and a statement that both Islam and Christianity have claims to Israel. The second page follows this theme with a statement that Muslims believe that their prophet rose to heaven from Jerusalem. The next section of text discusses Arab wedding ceremonies and other Arab cultural institutions. Two pages later is a statement about terrorism in Israel, which in its entirety is the following: "Different national groups disagree about who should be living in Israel. Some people, called terrorists, believe that frightening citizens is a way to bring about change. ... Most people want to stop terrorism." No word about who these terrorists are -- are they Israelis? The next page is about B'nai Akiva, whose purpose, we are told, is to "discuss Israeli values," such as bringing more immigrants to Israel "and the settling of land." Full of code words, this book is a bad choice. Much better books are "A Ticket to Israel," by Marcia Gresko, and "Enchantment of the World: Israel," by Martin and Stephen Hintz.
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