Chil­dren’s

Let My Peo­ple Go

Ali­son Green­gard, adapter; Car­ol Rack­lin-Siegel, illus.

  • Review
By – April 24, 2012

Let My Peo­ple Go is the newest addi­tion to a series of books which com­bine an authen­tic Torah-read­ing expe­ri­ence with a less for­mal Bible-sto­ry approach. This one tells the sto­ry of Moses as he appeals to Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, to let his peo­ple go from slav­ery to free­dom. It would be a wel­come addi­tion at a Passover seder, help­ing to bring the sto­ry to life. Each page begins with the rel­e­vant pas­sage from the Torah in clas­si­cal Hebrew font fol­lowed by an ele­gant para­phras­ing into Eng­lish. The syn­the­sis of the two approach­es leads to an inno­v­a­tive learn­ing and lit­er­ary expe­ri­ence that is a refresh­ing change from the ordi­nary. The book is read Hebrew style, from right to left, and con­tains an intro­duc­to­ry overview, as well as a Hebrew and translit­er­at­ed glos­sary. The art is a mag­nif­i­cent jew­el-like silkscreen tech­nique which enhances the beau­ty and depth of the expe­ri­ence. This book is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed for all ages either as a read-aloud or read-alone experience.

Michal Hoschan­der Malen is the edi­tor of Jew­ish Book Coun­cil’s young adult and children’s book reviews. A for­mer librar­i­an, she has lec­tured on top­ics relat­ing to lit­er­a­cy, run book clubs, and loves to read aloud to her grandchildren.

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