The Golden City: Jerusalem's 3,000 Years
by Neil Waldman
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Jerusalem's 3,000-year history is captured through paintings and descriptionsof the city's hillsides and aging structures.Tags
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The Golden City: Jerusalem's 3,000 Years is a beautifully illustrated book that takes readers back to 1004 B.C., when King David named Jerusalem the capital of Israel, up to 1967, the Six Day War. This is quite a feat to cover 3,000 years in just 32 pages. Waldman, who both illustrated and wrote the book, explains the wars, destruction and rebirth of the city and why it is such a spiritual place for so many.It would be a good introduction to religion for pre-teens.
Beautifully illustrated and concise overview of the history of Jerusalem, with a time line from 1004 BC when Kind David establishes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel to 1967 when Israeli troops captured the eastern side of the city during the Six Day War.
History, religion for 10 year olds
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ThingScore 50
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1995)
A sentimental account of Jewish history, seen through the lens of Jerusalem. This is an interesting perspective in itself, but Waldman (Nancy Luenn's Mother Earth, 1992, etc.) often overly romanticizes and is entirely subjective about a topic that few people can approach objectively. For instance, in describing the events that led up to the destruction of the show more Second Temple, he writes "Roman oppression increased, and the Jews revolted," which some may see as a tendentious reversal of causes and effects. The Jewish defense of the city is invariably heroic, and, despite sensitivity toward others' religious beliefs elsewhere, Waldman makes a cloaked reference, at least for children, to "a great prophet [Jesus]" who "nearly two millennia earlier . . . discussed the future of humanity with his disciples." The illustrations--done in watercolor and colored pencils, with a predilection for juxtaposing shades of purple with shades of green--appear like elegant snapshots against a grainy, beige background, each one with a caption (location, date). Although they are not on the whole very detailed, the architectural drawings are accurate and evocative. Chronology. 1995, Atheneum, $15.00. © 1995 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. show less
A sentimental account of Jewish history, seen through the lens of Jerusalem. This is an interesting perspective in itself, but Waldman (Nancy Luenn's Mother Earth, 1992, etc.) often overly romanticizes and is entirely subjective about a topic that few people can approach objectively. For instance, in describing the events that led up to the destruction of the show more Second Temple, he writes "Roman oppression increased, and the Jews revolted," which some may see as a tendentious reversal of causes and effects. The Jewish defense of the city is invariably heroic, and, despite sensitivity toward others' religious beliefs elsewhere, Waldman makes a cloaked reference, at least for children, to "a great prophet [Jesus]" who "nearly two millennia earlier . . . discussed the future of humanity with his disciples." The illustrations--done in watercolor and colored pencils, with a predilection for juxtaposing shades of purple with shades of green--appear like elegant snapshots against a grainy, beige background, each one with a caption (location, date). Although they are not on the whole very detailed, the architectural drawings are accurate and evocative. Chronology. 1995, Atheneum, $15.00. © 1995 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. show less
added by kthomp25
Author Information
19+ Works 958 Members
Neil Waldman is the writer and illustrator of more than fifty children's books. His books have won the Christopher Award, the National Jewish Book Award and the School Library Best Book Award. He is also the founder/director of the Fred Dolan Art Academy in the Bronx. Al and Teddy is one of his picture books. All proceeds from sales of "AL and show more TEDDY" will be used to support the young artists of the Fred Dolan Art Academy, a free Saturday school designed to help Bronx youngsters go to art college. Founded in 2006, twenty-three students have graduated from the academy, all going on to college with scholarships. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- Important places
- Jerusalem
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- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
