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September 27, 2002/Tishri 21 5763, Vol. 55, No. 5
Books address depression, religion and God
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
"Heart & Soul" by Liz Rosenberg (Harcourt Brace & Company, $5 paperback)
Willie Steinberg is a talented cellist and composer who, while suffering from depression, leaves her private arts high school in Philadelphia in the middle of her senior year. She returns to her family's home, recently relocated in Richmond, Va., where she avoids her mentally ill mother whose existence consists of drinking vodka and lemonade, sifting through travel brochures and waiting for word from Willie's absent father.
Willie spends several months alternately trapped in her house and walking aimlessly through the streets of Richmond, unable to compose. A 6-foot-tall Jewish New Englander, Willie could not be more out of place in the sleepy Southern city.
An invitation to a coming-out party for a school acquaintance is the beginning of a process in which Willie lets another student, Malachi Gelb - an outspoken Jewish boy with a chip on his shoulder - into her life. After a traumatic yet awakening series of events on the night of the party, Willie takes the first steps toward healing her soul.
While there is little action in the story, Willie's journey from darkness to self-discovery is engrossing.
This book is recommended for mature, experienced readers, ages 14 and up.
"One World, Many Religions: The Ways We Worship" by Mary Pope Osborne (Knopf, $19.95 hardcover)
Throughout history, religious differences have divided mankind. Today is no different. It is particularly important now for all children, Jewish children in particular, to understand that every religion can be respected for its history and appreciated for the beauty of its rituals and tradition.
This book, written by popular children's author Mary Pope Osborne, presents each of the six major world faiths - Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism/Taoism. In language appropriate for children, each religion is presented from its beginnings through the present day, including information about holidays, rituals and lifecycle events.
While each chapter focuses on a different religion, Osborne finds similarities in beliefs and rituals and weaves them throughout the text.
Illustrated with stunning color photographs - mostly of children - from all over the world, it's easy to imagine a world unified by beauty and understanding, rather than ravaged by intolerance and hatred.
This book is recommended for ages 10 and up, or for ages 8 and up as a read-aloud.
"Because Nothing Looks Like God" by Lawrence and Karen Kushner, illustrated by Dawn W. Majewski (Jewish Lights Publishing, $16.95 hardcover)
This is a book for parents and young children to read together. Designed to help answer children's difficult questions about God, it addresses the questions: "Where is God?" "What does God look like?" and "How does God make things happen?"
With brightly colored illustrations of everyday situations and simple text, children learn that while God can not be seen, he can be found everywhere from caterpillars to the helping hands of friends and neighbors.
This picture book is recommended for ages 4 and up.
Contact the writer at beth_olson@jewishaz.com.
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