The Brothers' Promise

Plot Summary

Reviews

"In this traditional Jewish tale, a father dies and leaves his farm to his two sons, who share the farm and look after each other, despite their very different lifestyles - Yankle is a happily married family man, and Josef is a loner who spends his time reading religious books.  When a drought threatens the farm, the brothers independently decide that the other needs whatever food has been saved.  In a comic episode, the duo go back and forth delivering food and wondering why they are each winding up with more instead of less.  Finally, they run into each other and, in a happy moment of realization, remember their father's words: "When a brother helps a brother, the angels in heaven weep tears of joy." ...Here, the pictures are vigorous both in color and in style of drawing.  There's lots of movement in the art, and the pictures capture the story's humor and the worry that comes with farming life."

Booklist

"[T]he love the brothers have for one another is clear."

School Library Journal

"Wickstrom's gentle characters bring the simple, lovely sentiment to life in a setting of rolling hills, illuminated by sunlight and candlelight."

Kirkus Reviews

"A retelling of the old Talmudic story about how love between brothers can create miracles..."

Children's Literature

" Sunlight, candlelight, and lightning bounce off coppery-browns and blue-grays, creating visual transitions as smooth as the verbal ones that revolve on turns of season. What goes around comes around, as the saying goes, and this retelling deserves to make the rounds of many library storytimes."
The Bulletin

Associated Keywords
Talmud, Jewish, farm, drought, sibling, 19th century, Eastern Europe, folktale