In the Promised Land - Hardcover

Rappaport, Doreen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688171508 ISBN 13: 9780688171506

Publisher: HarperColl, 2005

Synopsis

A magician plunges into the Mississippi River with wrists manacled together.

A doctor comforts children before injecting them with an experimental vaccine he hopes will save the lives of millions.

A law student, turned away from the Harvard library where women are not allowed, begins a career fighting for equal rights that leads to her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

These defining moments, described in vivid detail, introduce young readers to Harry Houdini, Dr. Jonas Salk, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as ten other distinguished Jewish Americans. By focusing on one key scene from each of thirteen people's lives, ac-claimed author Doreen Rappaport and noted artists Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu give young readers an exciting introduction to the great history of Jewish Americans.

About this title

About the Authors

Doreen Rappaport is well known for her groundbreaking approach to multicultural history and literature for young readers. Her many books include Victory or Death: Stories of the American Revolution; We Are The Many: A Picture Book of American Indians; and Martin’s Big Words, winner of the Jane Addams Book Award. She and her husband divide their time between New York City and a rural village in upstate New York.

Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu have illustrated many distinguished picture books, including Jewels, by Belinda Rochelle (Dutton), which was selected as a Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. The couple lives in New York City with their daughter and son.

Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu have illustrated many distinguished picture books, including Jewels, by Belinda Rochelle (Dutton), which was selected as a Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. The couple lives in New York City with their daughter and son.

Reviews

Grade 2-4–In several short paragraphs each, Rappaport tries to re-create a "defining" moment in the lives of 13 notable figures. Her subjects range from Asser Levy, whose letters of petition to the New Amsterdam council helped to gain rights for Jewish settlers in the colony, to Steven Spielberg and his creation of the character E. T. More than half of each spread is covered by a watercolor illustration of the subject amid a scene depicting the described moment. In some instances, this format does not leave sufficient space for an appealing introduction to the person. The author lists some of her resources, which include several first-person accounts. Rappaport has clearly done her homework, but while her sketchy introductions (some of which include dialogue) may inspire some youngsters to seek out further information on these notables, the book is very unexceptional, and not useful for reports.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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Gr. 4-7. Rappaport presents an eclectic group of Jewish Americans whose lives show what has been achieved in "the promised land." Biographies of one page (the rest of the spread is taken up with art) have a you-are-there feeling: "Ten thousand people were jammed together near the Mississippi River for a free performance" begins the introduction to Harry Houdini, for instance. There's a good mix of well- and lesser-known people here, including Asser Levy, who fought against anti-Jewish laws put into place by New Amsterdam's Peter Stuyvesant; Jacob Davis, who helped invent blue jeans; and Steven Spielberg. Although the brevity of the profiles leads to gaps (readers will need to extrapolate the exact year of Olympic gold-medalist Lillian Copeland's win), and there are some awkward transitions, children will come away with an idea of how Jews and the U.S. have benefited one another. The watercolor art is attractive and adds flavor to the biographies. A short reading list and lists of Web sites and selected resources are appended. Refer more proficient readers to Susan Goldman Rubin's L'Chaim [BKL N 1 04] for more on American Jewry. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperColl
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688171508
• ISBN 13: 9780688171506
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Van Wright Cornelius, Hu Ying-Hwa
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 31