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HONI'S CIRCLE
OF TREES
illustrated by Mim Green
(revised edition of
Honi
and his Magic Circle,
illustrated by Shay Rieger, 1979)
Jewish Publication
Society, 1994
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*
New York
Public Library Best Book, 197
*New
Yokr Public Libary's
publication
"Children's Books, 1980:
One Hundred Titles for Reading
and Sharing"
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Russian language paperback
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| From
the book jacket: |
From the hills of
ancient Israel comes a tale with
a modern message: preserve the
earth for future generations.
Honi, a magical Jewish folk
prophet, plants carob seeds for
“those who come,” the future
generations who will enjoy the
fruit of those trees.
Honi is
a wanderer and a doer of good
deeds. In fact, legend has it
that Honi can talk to the Lord
whenever he draws a circle on
the ground and steps into it. He
is known as Honi
Ha-Me’aggel, the circle
maker.
One hot
day, after planting carobs, Honi
takes a nap--only to awaken
seventy years later.
Children will appreciate the
ecological message, reinforced
with delightful illustrations of
a lovable Honi, surrounded by
birds and animals, and, of
course, trees.
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| A
little about the book: |
Honi
and his Magic Circle was my
first published children’s book and
was based on a Talmudic story my
father-in-law told me. May Garelik,
a children’s book author herself,
edited the text and gave me hope and
encouragement as a writer. When the
book went out of print, JPS decided
to come out with a new version, a
little shorter and with new
illustrations. My mother, the artist
Mim Green (in
earlier days, Miriam Dimondstein),
submitted art samples for
consideration. At the time, color
illustrations were too costly for
the small independent publisher to
produce, so black and white drawings
were used instead. Here, “published”
for the first time, are some of
Mim’s watercolor illustrations of
the man who fell asleep and woke up
seventy years later to see his trees
bear fruit:
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Honi
planting carob seeds in
the land of ancient
Israel.
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Honi
standing in his magic
circle, praying for rain.
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Celebrating
the sabbath.
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Honi
resting in the
shade...
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and
sleeping--for seventy years! |
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When Honi wakes
up, his beard is long
and white.
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The carob seed
he planted before his
nap is now a tree!
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No one believes
he is really Honi. He
stands in his circle
and asks the Lord,
"Why did You let me
live beyond my time?"
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| And then the
joyful truth comes to
him. "You have given
me a gift few receive.
You have allowed me to
see my trees bear
fruit!" |
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From the reviews: |
“With the simple eloquent
message of its words and charming
illustrations, Honi's Circle of Trees
reminds us all, children and adults
alike, of what is truly eternal--the
great circle of life and love that
embraces all creatures as one
generation passes into another." Wilderness
Magazine
"An old Talmudic story shows
surprising parallels to Johnny
Appleseed and Rip Van Winkle in the
form of the legendary Honi, who
wanders through Israel sowing seeds of
the carob tree....The telling is
smooth; the drawings are
simple....Since most Jewish lore for
children is based in an East European
Yiddish setting, this will be a
welcome change of pace.”
Booklist
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