Similar elements drawn from distinctly disparate sources, presented with a beguiling blend of good humor and serious intent.
With added input from some of his fifth-to seventh-grade students, a rabbi and private-school teacher reflects on values in the Harry Potter series and finds parallels in the Torah and Talmud.
Taking “life’s eternal questions” as his purview (“Sorry, not witchcraft and magic wands”), Rosenberg begins with personal behaviors (“Breaking the Rules,” “Manners”) and broadens the perspective as he goes to, ultimately, “Death,” “Good and Evil” and “Love.” He makes comparisons throughout—between Harry’s breaking rules for need, not fun and Elijah’s technically illegal “showdown” with the prophets of Ba’al on Mount Carmel; between the trios of Harry, Ron and Hermione and Moses, Aaron and Miriam; the bittersweet repentances of Snape and of David. They are only sometimes a little stretched and, except when he discounts the racist overtones some readers perceive in Rowling’s house elves (but does rebuke her for her treatment of the gnomes), clearly reasoned overall. Closing with 20 pages of generally engaging student essays (“Even though what Harry did was a little ‘braver,’ what Moses did was a little more sensible”) and a gathering of specific Bible references, the author gently eases even less contemplative readers into considering, as one chapter head puts it, “What Really Matters.”
Similar elements drawn from distinctly disparate sources, presented with a beguiling blend of good humor and serious intent. (Literary criticism/religion. 10-13, adult)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60280-183-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: KTAV
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
This fictional history of a church records not just the architectural changes it underwent over the years, but the links and connections with both the congregation that built the church and the culture that spawned it. A close collaboration between Otto and Lloyd (the team behind What Color Is Camouflage?, 1996) has resulted in a story told equally through pictures and text; it depicts how central a church was to the growth of community in early pioneer days. The first church was a log cabin constructed of trees felled from the hill where it was built. Meetings, weddings, births, and deaths were marked under that roof; when the church burns down, a sturdier structure replaces it. The landscape and the culture change around the church; eventually men and women share the pews, and the sermon is in English, instead of German. With the coming of electricity, the church is closed down, and only swallows inhabit its rafters. Several decades later, it is renovated and re-opened by loving restorationists who appreciate its history. In a style remniscent of American primitives, Lloyd records important storytelling details such as the pots and baskets used to carry meals to those building the church. By capturing such particulars, from the archaic sound of people’s names to the creeping suburban sprawl, Otto and Lloyd create a record of the larger picture of transformation in the landscape. (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-2554-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Longwinded though affecting tribute to resilience and solidarity.
Even a Category 5 hurricane can’t stop a revered coach and his championship high-school football team.
Popular historian Thompson (Driving with the Devil, 2006, etc.) begins in the locker room of New Orleans’ John Curtis Christian School on August 26, 2005. It was the night of the “jamboree” scrimmage that opened the season, and members of the Patriots were hoping to win another state championship for their school. Nationally recognized coach J.T. Curtis, also the school’s headmaster and son of its founder, knew that his hardworking, enthusiastic squad couldn’t compare to last year’s lineup. Many key players had graduated to college ball, and he needed to mentally and physically condition a young, unproven team with efficient, college-level practices consisting of “equal parts Broadway musical and football drills.” The 2005-6 Patriots included an anxious new starting quarterback, a Harvard hopeful, a spiritual heavyweight and a star linebacker whose religion forbade him to play on Friday nights. John Curtis School favored community building and happiness over flashy exteriors, and Coach Curtis reflected those values in his broadminded teaching style and paternal approach to his players’ personal lives. Hurricane Katrina confronted him and his team with the ultimate challenge. Returning to the drowned city, J.T. found the school in miraculously good shape and set out to reunite his squad and get them on the field again. Some players were tempted to join teams in other school districts, and Hurricane Rita tested them once again, but the devoted coach kept on plugging. Thompson deftly profiles a generous selection of players and families torn apart by the disaster and considers the contagious obsession for football shared by participants and fans alike. In a somewhat meandering fashion, he delivers a fully realized interpretative portrait of a coach and a sports organization willing to sacrifice all in the name of football.
Longwinded though affecting tribute to resilience and solidarity.Pub Date: July 31, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4165-4070-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2007
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
