The Book of Secrets

by Mat Tonti (Author) Mat Tonti (Illustrator)

The Book of Secrets
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

This exciting graphic novel presents a series of puzzling mystical Jewish stories weaving together a daring adventure tale, following siblings Rose and Ben as they search for their missing grandparents, aided only by a mysterious book, a lantern, and their wits.

Anticipating danger, the kids' grandmother, Bubbe, appears to the twins in a cloud of flour and tells them to find a package that contains a book. The midrash stories they find--about the flying Ziz, the giant Og, the gatekeeper at a maze, and a treasure-seeker who lives in a mushroom hut--provide insights into defeating the creepy sorceress scheming to take the book. As the mystery deepens, the siblings must follow the Lamplighter's wise advice, slip past a guard into a maze, reunite with their grandparents, and learn why they have inherited the responsibility to protect the book--and the Jewish people.

Select format:
Paperback
$14.99

Kirkus Reviews

The character design is wonderfully odd, though. A pair of angels resembles the sea monkeys from ads in old comic books. Readers will be happily confounded by every secret in this book.

Review quotes

"This unique title is a fine read for a wide variety of kids and a contender for a Sydney Taylor Honor Award or perhaps even a Sydney Taylor Book Award. It has strong and authentic Jewish content that introduces readers to stories from diverse time periods and origins and experiences. Tonti is a Rabbi, teacher, and trained as a scribe, providing solid Jewish scholarship and research as a foundation for his fantastical tale. While the style of art is unusual and the story unconventional, the awards committee may just have a taste for something different this year, and will send the The Book of Secrets to the top of their list!"— Gigi Pagliarulo

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781541578265
Lexile Measure
540
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Kar-Ben Publishing (R)
Publication date
October 20, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV033020 - Juvenile Fiction | Religious | Jewish
JUV008040 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Action & Adventure
JUV008070 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Fairy Tales, Folklore, Legends & Mythology
Library of Congress categories
Storytelling
Adventure and adventurers
Jews
Books and reading
Fate and fatalism
Graphic novels
Cartoons and comics

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