The Miracle Seed tells the superb story of how a tree extinct for a millennium got here again to life.

*The Miracle Seed by Martin Lemelman. Eerdmans Books for Younger Readers, 2023, 80 pages

Studying Stage: Center Grades, ages 8-10

Really helpful for; ages 7-12

Our story begins round A.D. 70, when Roman Common Titus savagely put down the final Jewish revolt, destroyed the Temple, and scattered the folks of Judea. The one final holdout was the mountain fortress of Masada, however that too was overrun in A.D. 74. The fortress was deserted, leaving garments, cash, weapons, and home goods to be lined by 2000 years of mud and sand. Among the many home goods was a jar of date seeds—particularly, seeds of the Judean date tree, lengthy prized for the sweetness and medicinal worth of its fruit.

Whereas the ruins of Masada slept, the Judean date tree was rising extinct. Whether or not by local weather or battle, the bushes had been lower or strangled or starved till, by A.D. 1000, there have been none left. However fast-forward to 1964, when a workforce or archaeologists trekked up the slim path to Masada and uncovered its long-lost treasures, together with a jar of date seeds. Forty years later, two girls—a medical researcher and a botanist, started to marvel if the Judean date tree may very well be resuscitated via a kind of Masada seeds. After 2000 years? Extremely unlikely. Nevertheless it was price a strive . . .

The fastidiously researched and fantastically rendered e book tells the story of the “extraordinary miracle” of natural life. Whereas making no direct reference to God and his creation, the textual content consists of quotes from classical Judaism, the Psalms, and C. S. Lewis. It additionally underscores the outsized contributions Jews have made to science, medication, and know-how within the fashionable age. This can be a story price realizing, informed in a readable and interesting graphic-novel format. In case your library doesn’t have a replica, request that they buy one!

General Ranking: 4.75 (out of 5

  • Worldview/ethical worth: 4.5
  • Creative/literary worth: 5

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