Review: Maybe It Happened This Way
Maybe It Happened This Way: Bible Stories Reimagined by Rabbi Leah Rachel Berkowitz and Erica Wovsaniker, illustrated by Katherine Messenger Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Did Noah procrastinate when building the ark, hoping that the people would change their ways and there would be no need for a flood? Did Abram and Sarai break idols together? Was Moses ultimately relieved to hand over his leadership duties to Joshua? In Maybe It Happened This Way , authors Rabbi Leah Rachel Berkowitz and Erica Wovsaniker offer readers an opportunity to imagine themselves inside Biblical stories, experiencing the events. The text is poetic. When Eve bites into the forbidden apple, “the taste burst onto her tongue.” Many stories are told in first person, respecting a middle school reader’s ability to understand events through the eyes of an adult. Shifra, one of the midwives who risked her life...