Text Set Reflection

The books I collected were, The Castle on Hester Street, Rebecca’s Journey Home, A Mezuzah on the Door and Witness . All these stories depicted characters and issues important within the Jewish faith. Overall, the authors depicted stories about Jewish issues and concerns at different times in our history. The common theme of family and friendship ties this text set together.
The theme of family and friendships occurred in Rebecca’s Journey Home, The Castle on Hester Street and A Mezuzah on the Door. These books center on the importance of friends and family in different ways. In Rebecca’s Journey Home, the importance of acceptance of a new family member is stressed in that book. In The Castle on Hester Street, the importance of love of your grandparents and your heritage is involved in this book. In A Mezuzah on the Door, the lesson is learned that your friends and family are always close to your heart even if they are really far away. Witness was the only book in my collection whose main theme did not appear to be friends and family.
From this set of texts the reader can better understand the Jewish culture and relate that culture to their own lives. The reader, if not Jewish could learn about Jewish traditions and their meanings. This could promote more understanding for the Jewish religion from people of other religions. It’s important for children to be exposed to diverse literature, like Jewish literature, at a young age to prevent stereotyping and to promote understanding and acceptance of all people.