By
– October 24, 2011
Rabbi Harvey, of the fictional frontier town of Elk Spring, Colorado, has a tough job. All day long he is besieged with questions to answer and problems to solve. He has to outwit the bad guys, reward the good guys, and teach the children right from wrong. Fortunately, Harvey is one smart rabbi, and he has no trouble accomplishing all of the above with humor and aplomb. These ten gems about Rabbi Harvey are told in the manner of classic Jewish folktales, and are illustrated in a sepiatoned graphic novel format. The cartoon style is both childish and endearing. People are drawn with large heads and perpetually tired-looking eyes, and the wood-grain backdrops add an Old West feel to the panels. Older teens and adults will laugh and learn while watching Rabbi Harvey at work. The author includes one page of suggestions for further reading, which covers a wide range of material from graphic novels to Kabbalistic folktales.
Wendy Wasman is the librarian & archivist at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Cleveland, Ohio.