Cain and Abel : Finding the Fruits of Peace (Hardcover)

by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (Author), Joani Keller Rothenberg (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Sasso (In God's Name) visits one of the more disturbing moments within the Bible, the murder of Abel by his brother, Cain, to offer children a penetrating and ultimately hopeful response. She begins by citing a midrash: in the beginning, a single tree could bear many different kinds of fruit, but with the murder of Abel, the trees went into mourning, and "only in the world to come will the trees return to their full fruitfulness." Setting the scene with descriptions of "orapples, plumelons, and banangerines," etc., the author kindles the audience's interest. Then she focuses on Cain and Abel, "two children [who] walked in God's garden called Earth." At first the brothers are friends. Then Cain, a farmer, argues that God loves the farmer best; Abel argues that God favors shepherds like him. Tension between the brothers escalates until Cain fatally throws a rock at Abel and cannot undo the damage: "It was as if Cain had destroyed an entire world." Linking the brothers' anger to hatred to global warfare, Sasso tacitly reminds readers that peace begins with the individual. Rothenberg's folk-art-style compositions support the open, child-friendly tone, and while the portraits of the brothers can be stiff and static, her visual interpretations of abstract ideas (worlds destroyed, God speaking with Cain) are strikingly imaginative. Her final scene, a bucolic fantasy, includes a detail of two children sharing a copy of Cain and Abel, a powerful suggestion that knowledge and understanding can breed peace. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3--In this retelling of the Bible story, a rabbi shows how the idyllic world of "the first children" was marred and then destroyed by jealousy, unkind words, anger, and, finally, murder. A passage from Midrash Tanhuma provides both narrative and artistic inspiration: "In the beginning God created each tree so that it could yield many different kinds of fruit." The story stirs readers' imaginations by describing pinangoes, limeberries, waterloupes, and plumelons growing on a single branch while the vividly colored, heavily outlined impressionistic artwork offers a powerful visual interpretation. The large format lends itself to Rothenberg's bold lines and streaks of color while allowing plenty of space for the text and borders. In the final pages, the author and illustrator move beyond traditional Jewish sources to show how angry words and killing became war, destroying entire worlds. They effectively conclude this parable by returning to the image of orapples and banangerines growing from a single tree in a time of peace when "in God's garden called Earth, all will be good." Not since In God's Name (Jewish Lights, 1994) has Sasso crafted so child-centered a story capable of engaging the imaginations and spiritual intelligence of readers. Children in all types of schools and libraries will be touched by it.

Linda R. Silver, Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, OH

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing; illustrated edition edition (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580231233
• ISBN-13: 978-1580231237
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #464,772 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for all ages, November 30, 2001

By	Kathleen S. Bostrom "kgb81" (Wildwood, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sandy Eisenberg Sasso is a gifted writer, and once again has written a book that is beautifully done and inspirational. The book is timely, in that it tells about the destructiveness of anger but also the reality of hope. I recommend this book for all ages. It's a wonderful way to teach children but also to teach adults about the ramifications of their actions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for children!!, May 10, 2007

By	Colleen Cullinan (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is gorgeous, stunning, and absolutely wonderful. I bought it when my older son was almost five and he had a new(ish) little brother who was just starting to crawl around and make trouble. I read it to Thomas and the second I finished the last line he cried "READ IT AGAIN!" I've never seen him so engrossed in a story.

The wonderful thing Sasso does with the Cain and Abel story is talk about the depth of love the brothers had for each other before a misunderstanding made them both hatefully angry. She also illustrates wonderfully how the earth itself went into mourning over this first killing--the trees, which used to bear many different kinds of fruit at once (Orangeapples, banangerines etc!) were reduced to offering only a single kind of fruit. Dealing with the depth and complexities of sibling relationships--and how they shape the world as a whole-- in a way that children can take in is a gift--Sasso is amazing. I highly recommend all her work.