My First Book of Famous Jews by Julie Merberg, Illustrated by Julie Wilson; Downtown Bookworks; ISBN 9781950-587261; 20 pages, $11.99.
SAN DIEGO — It’s never too early for a child to be inculcated with Jewish pride. This board book will be enjoyed both by parents (or grandparents) and the children sitting on their laps both because of the caricatures of famous Jews and the rhyming couplets with which they are described.
More than 50 Jews are introduced to the children in the fields of entertainment, science, superheroes, law, music composition, film, singing, scholarship, and writing, visual arts, politics, and women’s rights.
Pictured on the cover of the book are Steven Spielberg, Barbara Streisand, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Albert Einstein. The couplets describing them will give a flavor of the book:
Steven Spielberg — “Indiana Jones, E.T., and Shindler’s List?/ Steven Spielberg is the guy behind these hits.”
Barbra Streisand (coupled with Bob Dylan) — “Bob Dylan is a poet, a singer, a sage. / A star was born when Barbra Streisand hit the stage.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg — “The Torah says that to be a good Jew, ‘Justice, justice, justice shall you pursue.’ / Over the years, there were many a mensch who decided what’s fair from the Supreme Court bench.” (The illustration features Ginsburg, but also depicts seven other Jewish justices through Supreme Court history: Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, Felix Frankfurter, Arthur Goldberg, Abe Fortas, and the two currently sitting on the High Court: Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.)
Albert Einstein — “‘Relativity,’ the theory Einstein shared/ shows that energy equals MC squared. (On the same page is San Diego’s own Jonas Salk: “Jonas Salk helped to save a generation/ by inventing the polio vaccination!
It’s fun and may open your young child’s mind into further exploring Jewish heritage as the child gets older.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
Looks like a fun and interesting read. The illustrations are great!