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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fueling Fresh Interest in Jewish Folklore and Peaceful Solutions to Conflict, April 1, 2010
This review is from: Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid: A Graphic Novel of Dueling Jewish Folktales in the Wild West (Paperback)
Here's the puzzle: How does an author of history textbooks convince American kids that traditional Jewish folklore is cool? Historian Steve Sheinkin solved the problem this way: He created Rabbi Harvey of the Wild West comic books. His graphic novels contain real-life Jewish wisdom embodied in a tough, tall, black-garbed hero who looks like Clint Eastwood's Jewish cousin--except that Harvey always shoots from his brain, never from his hip. Sheinkin's third book-length comic, "Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid," poses the toughest challenge yet for the clever young rabbi--another clever young rabbi! Their running confrontation brings Harvey to his knees--once again in classic Hollywood Western style. Sheinkin's overall goal is a revival of interest in Jewish folklore, and---even more than that---he wants to show readers that there are solutions to violent challenges that don't involve escalating the violence. His lifelong love of American history lights up especially around those moments when men and women found clever solutions to defuse crises. (If you want to sample his approach to getting kids interested in pure history, check out his prose book on the American West: Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About Westward Expansion) When Sheinkin sketches his hero Harvey, the drawings may look a bit like Clint Eastwood---but the overall storylines hark back to classic Hollywood Westerns and timeless spiritual themes. Rabbi Harvey's moral compass is more Moses than Eastwood's Man Without a Name. Rabbi Harvey doesn't part waters, but he dodges plenty of fists, knives, bullets and nooses by fearlessly drawing on the sheer wit and wisdom of Jewish literature.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A humorous western tale based on old Jewish stories, February 24, 2011
This review is from: Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid: A Graphic Novel of Dueling Jewish Folktales in the Wild West (Paperback)
This is the third humorous graphic novel by Steve Sheinkin in which he portrays the adventures of Rabbi Harvey in the Wild West, at a fictitious time when all the people he meets are Jewish. There is no shooting of guns, only shooting with one's mouth, with wise statements. Sheinkin won an award for one of his earlier versions. He derives his stories from ancient Jewish tales that show humor and wisdom, and he rewrites them and applies them to the Wild West Rabbi Harvey. He tells us in this volume that he used nine stories to depict the encounter between Rabbi Harvey and Rabbi Rubin, known as the Wisdom Kid. All of the episodes and the graphics are clever and humorous. One graphic, for example, depicts the local bar as "Gefilte Gil - Saloon & Fish Bar. Rabbi Rubin had been studying back east and has become quite proficient in Jewish wisdom. He comes to town wanting to displace Rabbi Harvey who had been giving advice to people and resolving their problems for nothing. Even at the town fair, he set up a booth to answer any question for five cents, or nothing if he is unable to do so. The Wisdom Kid sets up his own booth and offers the same service for one cent. The wisdom Kid is knowledgeable, but he is deceptive and he wants to milk the people for money, charging for his advice when he replaces Rabbi Harvey. An example of the humor: a town decides to hang a baker for a crime even though everyone knew that the blacksmith did the crime. Why? Because the town had only one blacksmith, but it has two bakers. The story goes on to tell how Rabbi Harvey saved the baker's life by being clever. Another example: Two villains are being tested to determine if one of them is suitable to be the sheriff. Which is more important, they are asked, the sun or the moon? Answer: The moon. Why? Because the sun gives light when it's already light, but the moon gives light when it is dark. Question: Everybody knows that if you drop a slice of buttered bread, it will always fall with the buttered side down. Why then did it happen yesterday that the bread fell with the buttered side up? Answer: Simple. You buttered your bread on the wrong side. The person giving these answers got the job. The Wisdom Kid and his mother "Bad Bubbe" Bloom devise a plot where Rabbi Harvey is arrested for robbery. They are assisted by the self-proclaimed genius "Big Milt" Wasserman. Sheinkin describes how Rabbi Harvey is able to outwit his guards, escape with the help of the town's school teacher, a woman he wants to marry, and returns to his home town Elk Spring, Colorado, to show in a duel of wisdom that he is smarter and more fit to serve as the rabbi than the Wisdom Kid.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rabbi Harvey perfect for a wide range of ages, November 16, 2010
This review is from: Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid: A Graphic Novel of Dueling Jewish Folktales in the Wild West (Paperback)
Rabbi Harvey finds himself in a bind in his third graphic novel adventure. Two of his previous foes--"Bad Bubbe" Bloom and "Big Milt" Wasserman--team up to make Bad Bubbe's son, Rabbi "Wisdom Kid" Rubin, the only rabbi in town. Is Rabbi Harvey's wisdom quick enough and sharp enough to prevail? And will he ever win the hand of the fair gold miner/school teacher Abigail? Sheinkin's most recent Rabbi Harvey book is as fun and enlightening as his previous works: The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey and Rabbi Harvey Rides Again. While the combination of a Wild West setting and ancient Jewish folktales sounds like a recipe for disaster, Sheinkin instead brews up a treat. As in fables of old, Sheinkin has distilled ancient wisdom down to a pure elixir which goes down smoothly, making the stories in the Rabbi Harvey collections perfect for a wide range of ages, from older elementary through adults. The Wild West setting simply gives things a uniquely American twist. Sheinkin is careful to keep his characters true to type, giving Harvey a dry wit that plays nicely off of the gently conniving foes he faces. Abigail's independent, down-to-earth personality is an enjoyable touch. Each person is drawn as enough of an individual to make him or her stand out and remain clear throughout the tales, but their long faces and weary eyes add humor to the tales. The setting is simple, with enough details for readers to see the Old West in their heads, but without overloading the pages. A muted brown-and-tan color palette also helps set the stage. The stories are broken into sections for readers who like to have a stopping point, but those sections flow smoothly into one another for the straight-through reader. Readers do not have to have read the previous books to enjoy this third outing and knowledge of Jewish folklore is not necessary either. A list of suggested readings and information on story sources makes this a nice choice for use in classrooms. Though this will probably have to be somewhat hand-sold to potential readers, once they've read one of Rabbi Harvey's fun adventures, they'll be sure to want another. Rabbi Harvey is a wonderful addition to American folklore, more than able to take his place beside older icons such as Paul Bunyan and Brer Rabbit. -- Snow Wildsmith
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