Stories of Heaven and Earth: Bible Heroes in Contemporary Children's Literature (Bible and Literature) - Hardcover

Hara Person; Diane Goetz Person

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826414680 ISBN 13: 9780826414687

Publisher: Continuum, 2005

Synopsis

Stories of Heaven and Earth is intended to be a helpful resource for parents, librarians, teachers, and clergy. It offers a critical examination of children's picture books based on stories from the Old Testament, as well as an analysis of these stories as powerful tales of emotional development. The book focuses on a select group of well-known biblical characters, including Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Joseph, David, Jonah and Esther. In this original work, the authors make a cogent argument for why these stories matter. Emphasis is placed on the power of these stories as a source of literature rich in universal archetypes, ethical dilemmas, decision-making, rites-of-passage, and emotional growth. Drawing on connections to familiar fairy tales, folklore and mythology through the work of scholars like Joseph Campbell and Bruno Bettelheim, as well as the work of recognized theorists in the fields of child development and children's literature, the authors show how Bible Stories offer children critically important models of the journey from childhood into adulthood, from dependence to independence. Stories of Heaven and Earth shows how bible stories allow children to become the heroes of their own lives as they make the difficult but essential transition from childhood to adolescence and into adulthood.

About this title

About the Author:

Hara E. Person is a writer and editor of books for adults and children. She is also a rabbi and was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Diane Goetz Person, Ph.D., is the co-editor of The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature as well as the author of several books on using children’s literature in the classroom. A children’s librarian and a professor of education at Long Island University, she was a member of the 2003 Newbery Committee, and serves on several other committees of the American Library Association and the International Reading Association.Diane Goetz Person, Ph.D, is the co-editor of The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature as well as the author of several books on using children's literature in the classroom. A children's librarian and a professor of education at Long Island University, she was a member of the 2003 Newbery Committee, and serves on several other committees of the American Library Association and the International Reading Association.

Review:

"Outside of Sunday School, few children today read Bible stories. Inthis wonderful volume, Hara and Diane Person make a compelling case forthe power of Biblical stories to teach our children ethical lessons,provide them with inspiring but real-life heroes, and help them growemotionally. A scholarly work that is readily accessible to a generalreadership, it will hopefully convince parents to start reading their children the Bible stories that have fascinated and instructed young people for thousands of years."Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President, Union for Reform Judaism

"In a beautifully written and readable monograph, the authors explore the ways in which tales of biblical heroes and heroines have been and might be presented to children. Informed by psychoanalytical and folkloristic orientations, the work concentrates on biblical characters whose stories exemplify particular sorts of life passages and choices. The authors' emphasis on emotional development and their attention to the richness and complexity of the tradition make their study a valuable resource for parents and teachers. The work, however, will enrich all who enjoy exploring biblical narrative in the context of comparable world literature and the human experience."Dr. Susan Niditch, Samuel Green Professor of Religion, Amherst College

"The Persons perceptively explore the meanings and analyze recent retellings of seven narratives from the Hebrew Bible: creation, Noah, Joseph, Moses, David, Jonah, and Esther. Their erudite, detailed exegesis closely follow the narratives (and illustrations) without forced interpretation...fine psychological and ethical insights" - School Library Journal, November 2005 (Patricia D. Lothrop School Library Journal)

"Serious criticism in the field of Jewish children'sliterature is so rare that when it appears, it is noteworthy. Rabbi Hara E.Person is the Editor-in-Chief of URJ Press. Diane G. Person, her mother, is achildren's librarian, editor, and author. Thus, their credentials for writing abook like this one are good... Highly recommended."- Jewish Book World, Winter 2005
(American Jewish Archives Journal)

"...this is a ratherscholarly, albeit interesting book. I bookmarked so many pages in it wanting torevisit the authors' analysis, insight, and interpretation...this is primarily abook for teachers and librarians." — Newsletterof the Association of Jewish Libraries, Nov/Dec 2005 (Newsletter of the Association of Jewish Libraries)

"The Person book is a more scholarly work. Organized in the order of the Hebrew Scriptures- Creation, Noah, Joseph, Moses, David, Jonah, and Esther- the books selected are primarily from mainstream publishers and the general book trade, but also include a few from religious publishers that appeal to a broad audience." (AJL Newsletter, November/ December 2005)

"The Persons' study is based on a sample drawn principally from around 1980 to the present and is, in this sense, a synchronic study about how these particular Bible stories look to contemporary readers. The Persons' description accurately analyzes what is currently available, and it provides a useful yardstick for understanding how particular children's Bible story fits among contemporary tellings of the same story." —Ruth B. Bottigheimer, Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2, Winter 2008 (Ruth B. Bottigheimer)

"The Persons perceptively explore the meanings and analyze recent retellings of seven narratives from the Hebrew Bible: creation, Noah, Joseph, Moses, David, Jonah, and Esther.  Their erudite, detailed exegesis closely follow the narratives (and illustrations) without forced interpretation...fine psychological and ethical insights" - School Library Journal, November 2005 (Sanford Lakoff School Library Journal)

“Serious criticism in the field of Jewish children’sliterature is so rare that when it appears, it is noteworthy. Rabbi Hara E.Person is the Editor-in-Chief of URJ Press. Diane G. Person, her mother, is achildren’s librarian, editor, and author. Thus, their credentials for writing abook like this one are good... Highly recommended.”- Jewish Book World, Winter 2005
(American Jewish Archives Journal)

“...this is a ratherscholarly, albeit interesting book. I bookmarked so many pages in it wanting torevisit the authors’ analysis, insight, and interpretation...this is primarily abook for teachers and librarians.” – Newsletterof the Association of Jewish Libraries, Nov/Dec 2005 (Sanford Lakoff)

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0826414680
• ISBN 13: 9780826414687
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288