Chil­dren’s

Rab­bi Har­vey Rides Again

Steve Sheinkin
  • Review
By – February 15, 2012
Just as in the orig­i­nal, Rab­bi Har­vey Rides Again is a graph­ic nov­el set in Elk Spring, Col­orado, dur­ing the 1870’s. Rab­bi Har­vey is the hero, judge and sher­iff all rolled into one. Rab­bi Har­vey solves the town’s prob­lems armed only with his wit and wis­dom. Author Steve Sheinkin takes clas­sic Jew­ish folk­tales and gives them am unex­pect­ed twist, seam­less­ly inte­grat­ing Jew­ish folk­lore into the Wild West. The char­ac­ters and dilem­mas change in each sto­ry, but Rab­bi Har­vey is always there to clev­er­ly save the day with his arse­nal of Jew­ish knowl­edge. This sequel has 10 tales, each one with its own les­son and plot. Rab­bi Har­vey brings new life to tales and leg­ends from Rab­bi Aki­va to Chelm and every­where Jew­ish in between. The illus­tra­tions are sim­ple, but Mr. Sheinkin took the time to add in peri­od details, like min­ing and sad­dleries. Even read­ers who are not fans of graph­ic nov­els will enjoy this book. It can be used for sim­ple bed­time read­ing with your child and also to facil­i­tate dis­cus­sions about Jew­ish ethics in reli­gious school. Sheinkin cer­tain­ly proves that the way to a child’s heart and mind is through the fun­ny bone. Ages 8
Rachel Ros­ner is the Direc­tor of the Jew­ish Book Fes­ti­val in Rochester, NY. She also runs Jew­ish Fam­i­ly Pro­grams for the JCC, and has worked there since 1994. She holds a degree in Ear­ly Child­hood Edu­ca­tion from Syra­cuse University.

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