Kids' stuff

Many books on Pirkei Avot are tough going for the reader. They are often packed with mussar, designed to stir the conscience and to point to our shortfall in our behavioural standards. Children's books are an exception; they are designed to appeal to the young and growing child, both aesthetically and in terms of the accessibility of their content.

Genendel Krohn's Ma'aseh Avos was published by Feldheim last year and I missed its emergence, being submerged in the writing of my own book. Krohn is a writer of popular works that are addressed to a readership of kids who belong to the committed orthodox camp. As one might expect, this introduction to Avot teaches without being preachy and it illustrates principles drawn from that tractate in ways that children can easily identify with.

The author wisely does not attempt to cover Avot in full. She has selected three mishnayot or baraitot from each of the six perakim, illustrating them with memorable stories that will resonate particularly strongly with readers who can identify themselves or the main protagonists. In keeping with the spirit of Avot 6:6, Krohn even cites the source of each of her illustrative tales. Brightly coloured artwork by Tirtsa Pelleg literally completes the picture of a fun first book on Avot.

Ma'aseh Avos is published by Feldheim; it can be purchased in all good Jewish bookshops (inevitably I found my copy in Pomeranz's Jerusalem store) and on Amazon.